Close Your Eyes, Open Your Mind
by TheLadyKellet
Summary: The end of the First Contact war is on the horizon after years of blood shed on both sides. Garrus has left the war effort and C-Sec behind and joined his new mentor, Nihlus, in Spectre training. But what is Nihlus hiding from him. And just what is Luna. AU First Contact War story featuring a OC FemShep and Romance with our favorite turian.
1. Chapter 1

I have been reading many many fan fictions as of late and along with that comes the wonderful pondering of what my own story would be like. This is what I have come up with as of late. Now bare in mind I am typing on my tablet and the last time I wrote any kind of fan fiction was back in middle school, well over 10 years ago. I hope that I start to get better as I go.

I promise that the story gets quite a bit better after this chapter. I just wanted to get it started really. Garrus will be more of the main focus in chapters to come. I will try to update at least once a week but I do have life things like job, school, husband, child. But I will do my best to update. So enough of me worrying and on with the show. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or its Characters in any shape form or fashion. But I would gladly own Garrus if I had the ability...

Was it some unspoken rule or had the race that had created the Citadel think it some wonderfully sick joke to make every elevator creep its way up to the next floor. Garrus shifted his weight from one foot to the other as the oh so slow elevator gave him time to think about the current events.

The war was finally starting to creep toward its finish, the end almost in sight. It already had name, it was dubbed `The First Contact War'. So amazingly original, right? But Garrus had never really cared about the war. He did his small bit right after training, taking part in a standard tour. Then as soon as he was able he opted out for a chance to join C-Sec. That is until recent events put him up as a Spectre candidate. Now he as on his way to the docking bay where he was to meet his new mentor.

As the elevator door finally open Garrus stepped out, letting his eyes scan the dock in search for the ship he had been told that his mentor owned. Bright blue hues landed on the sleek sliver and red ship. It look small and stealthy, something that fit right along with a lone Spectre. As he neared the ship he spotted his new mentor sitting on a crate next to the dock, reviewing a data pad that was clutch in one taloned hand.

Nihlus was concentration on the datapad so full hat he did not notice the other turian was right on top of him, casting a shadow over the orange lit screen. Bright green eyes slowly moved up to take in the younger turian standing before him. His mandible twitched slightly in an amused smirk as he soaked up the fresh green solider that was now his charge. Although he knew it was him he still raised a brow plate to him. "Garrus Vakarian?"

Garrus gave the dark turian a small nod as he shifted the weight of his bag on his shoulder. The famed Spectre looked just like the vids he had seen but at the same time he didn't. What he had expected was a turian with a clear military upbringing, standing at attention, judging him with calculating eyes, looking for flaws. What he found was what appears to be a laid back, a easy going guy that didn't feel better than his subordinate. Which just told Garrus that this turian had to sides, one that he put on in front of the cameras and officials. The other is one that he held for privet times, which Garrus realized he was now part of. He was brought back to the present as the white marked turian stood and tilted his head towards the ship.

Once inside the lights flickered to life, creating a nice dim setting that, thankfully, did not assault his eyes. The ship was simple and basic, the bare necessity for a one or two man run ship. As both turian moved into the cabin area Nihlus began to explain to him the layout of the ship.

"She is a standard ship but she is home. Once you get your own ship as a Spectre make sure you like it and are comfortable with it. It will become more of a home than any station or planet ever was." Raising his hand he pointed down the small hallway that lead away from the cockpit. "Straight back you will find the mess/cargo area. There is a room to right, that will be mine. There are two on the left. The first one will be yours. The second is off limits for now..." His eyes moved towards the navigation controls as he seemed to ponder his next explanation. "There is one more thing you should be aware of.." Moving over towards the bright controls he began to bring up a few windows before he turned back towards Garrus.

"Say hello to our new guest, Luna."

Garrus's brow plate rose slightly as a soft and somewhat electronic voice could be heard throughout the small ship. "Hello, Mr. Vakarian. It is a pleasure to meet you." Garrus shifted as he looked back towards Nihlus.

"Your VI program?" If it was it was the oddest sounding one yet. Even though there was the small electronic buzz in the words there was something off in its speech pattern. Almost like there was a slang or accent in its voice. But why have a VI with an odd speech pattern. Nihlus shook his head slightly as his mandibles fluttered slightly in a grin.

"Luna is far more than a VI. And before you ask, no she is not an AI. She is... well she is the closest thing to an AI without actually being AI." Nihlus had cut off his question but he created so many more unanswered questions. But it was clear that Nihlus didn't want to talk about it as he moved towards the pilot seat. As he sat he brought up a few windows.

"There has been a quite a few slave ships getting carried away on the border of Council Space. The Council feels this would be a good first mission to break you in on." Garrus moved to stand behind him as he looked over his shoulder at the file. Once again his brow plate rose as he took in the victims of the slavers.

"The Council wants us to save humans?" Granted Garrus hated the war and found it pointless he was never a big fan of humans. The were a cocky race that can't own up to their mistakes. And most of the ones that he had meet outside of the war were either weak or simply a waste of space in his opinion. He was surprised when Nihlus turned to him quickly with narrowed eyes.

"I am a Spectre, you are Spectre in training. We work for the Council who look after the entire Galaxy. We are the only thing that protect the galaxy as a whole. Once you accept that role there is no war. There is no grudge between races. The galaxy is a whole unit and we are its shield and sword. And that includes the Humans. They are still part of this galaxy."

Garrus could only offer a small nod at the small lecture that Nihlus had just given. What he said made since but at the same time it was hard to push aside years of hatred drilled into him. Nihlus seemed to accept his nod as he turned back towards the controls.

"Alright beautiful, let's set a course and get this mission going..." At first Garrus thought Nihlus was talking to the ship, which meant himself. But the soft voice was back and seemed to hold a small amount of amusement. "Of course, Nihlus. Setting course now."

And with that Garrus could feel the ship move under his feet. Realizing he was still holding his bag like a fool he excused himself and moved towards the room that Nihlus had mentioned. As he walked he pondered more on the turian that held his future in his hand so to speak. He was nothing like he expected and he wasn't sure wither that was good or not. But one thing was clear, his life with the Spectre was going to be an interesting one.


	2. Chapter 2

Wow already I have a few follows and comments. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. Thank you to all my story stalkers that make me feel important. And the comments are great guys. On a side note to Jane Hood about spell check. To begin my spelling is beyond terrible so I do rely heavily on spell check but since I am typing on a tablet too I have the wonderful Auto correct. So I will double check my story for spelling errors as well as auto correct fails. But I can't promise I will get every single one. So please bare with me. Also a side note, I was very tempted to put a shrub in Nihlus's room. It made me smile quite a bit.

I know I said at least once a week but if I have free bonus days like today I will work on a chapter and you might get more than one a week. Besides I don't really count the last chapter as a whole chapter, just a lead in. Alright so enough pointless babel, on with the show.

Disclaimer:Mass Effect and its characters are not mine no matter how much I want them...

"_Scratch another one..._" Garrus thought to himself as the heat sink popped out of his rife and he began to load another, the thunder over head slowly dyeing away. He couldn't have asked for a better sniping set up.

This was his third week into Spectre training and so far it was about as exciting as he had expected. They would receive a mission, fly to the destination, do what needs to be done, report back to the Council and receive their next mission, then be off once again. There was never really any down time for them so far. But that was alright with Garrus. Action was far better than the boredom that would assault him if they didn't have missions. He had spent his whole life always _doing_ something that he didn't know if he was even capable of doing nothing.

A yellow helmet moved in the middle of his cross-hairs bringing his mind back to his job at hand. This mission was different than the ones that the Council had been shoving onto them as of late. Which meant to Garrus that they were wanting to see him under different situations now, which was a good sign. Since his first mission to take out the slavers all the missions since had been along the same line. Find the bad guys, stop the bad guys. No need for style. No need for any talent other than shooting a lot of people. But now they were on a mission of retrieval.

They found themselves on a small planet that seemed to feature a none stop lightening storm. The sky was a constant dance of of flashes with the occasional rolling of thunder. The base they were currently at was a large player in black market weapons trade. But they were not the largest player. Finding the top dogs was their mission objective. So the current moment found Nihlus deep inside the base searching and copying all the files he could onto his Omni-tool. Garrus was posed on a small ridge a far way back from Nihlus's exit, making sure that no enemies lingered around the escape route.

The yellow helmeted figure turned in a small circle as it looked for its fellow guards. Garrus had to admit that there was some joy in using incendiary rounds in a mission like this. Nothing was left of the guards comrades besides ash and that had long since blown away with the storms winds. He was quite glad that the storm did not come along with rain, that would make hiding the ash and smell all the more harder. But not impossible.

As the helmet finally seemed to catch on and bring up his wrist to radio the rest of the group, Garrus took in a large breath. As he slowly began to exhale he lined up his shot and let his finger twitch in the hair trigger of his rifle. Thunder clapped above once more to hide the sound of the rifle fire, which at first felt like luck was ow simply a constant given. Garrus watched through the scope as the helmet was hit and slowly began to disintegrate the figure. It was not as satisfying as watching his head blow into nothingness but it was still something.

Another figure appeared in his scope, this one a helmeted turian wearing black and red armor. The figure looked up towards him and gave him a small nod. Garrus nodded in return though he didn't think Nihlus could see him properly from this distance. As Nihlus made his way back towards the ship Garrus made one last sweep with his rifle, making sure no one noticed the exiting turian or the lack of guards. With luck the base wouldn't be able to figure out what happened. Nihlus was to not leave a trace of him being there or of what he did. So it should simple look as though a few guards disappeared for no reason. Once Nihlus was clear Garrus slid down the ridge a bit before he feel back to the ship that waited for them a few miles back.

As Garrus entered the ship Nihlus was already out of his helmet and in the pilot seat. His green orbs moved to Garrus for only a second before he offered another nod and turned back towards the controls. The door shut tight behind him as he slipped into the co pilot seat, pulling off his cobalt helmet. "We are still under the radar. They are none the wiser. Did you get everything?"

Nihlus gave him a turian smirk as he gave a small nod. "Everything and then some. These guys are very very busy and lucky for us they like to keep everything on file and in detail. Luna is going over it all now. Once she makes since of all of it we will have a new destination." His mandibles flared in a wide grin. "We are going to meet the top guy and take him out."

Garrus shared his grin as he stood with a nod. "It will be good to take this guy down. I have seen those crates before, the ones the weapons shipped in. I ran into quite a few of them in my C-Sec days. Because of them a lot of innocent people were killed..." It was another moment in Garrus's life that clearly showed just how much of a difference he could make as a Spectre instead of a C-Sec officer. The red tape of C-Sec left him simple cleaning up the mess and putting a few of the underlings behind bars for a short while. As a Spectre, even one in training, they were gong after the big guys, the one at the top. He was going to make it so some poor C-Sec officer wouldn't have to do clean up from these weapons anymore.

Nihlus only offered him an understanding nod before he turned back to the console. Garrus left him like that as he moved towards the mess area. Moving to one of the small tables that he had converted into his own little work bench. Setting down his rifle he began his after mission routine. He started by dismantling the rifle very carefully. After that he began to clean each piece, checking it over as he did so for any damage or need for upgrade. Once each piece felt as close to perfect as he could make it he began to resemble his rifle. It was when he was fitting the last piece into place that a very familiar voice echoed in the small area he was in.

"Welcome back, Mr. Vakarian. Sorry for the delay I was assisting Nihlus. I take it you enjoyed your mission?" Luna's voice was calm and even as it was most of the time.

Garrus couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he looked up towards the door across for him. It was the door that he was not aloud to enter. It only took the first few days for him to figure out that from the humming coming from the room and the fact that he wasn't aloud in that that was where Luna's program was found. And he had begun to simple call her a program since Nihlus would not give him any more detail as to what she was. She was far to advanced to be VI but it was clear that she was not AI, not with what Nihlus said about her.

"You know you don't have to great me every time I come back.." He raised a hand to place on his shoulder as he rolled it getting it to loosen up once again after being hunch over his rifle. "And the mission was quite entertaining. There are only a few better ways to remove some stress than blasting bad guys into dust..." Standing up he moved his rifle over towards its case and began to put it away. "Luna, did I not ask that you stop calling me that. Makes me think my father is lurking around somewhere. Call me Garrus."

It took a moment for her to respond, she must have been logging it so some other computer thing. When she did speak it almost seemed as though she were amused. "Alright then Garrus. Nihlus wants me to inform you that we are taking off."

Garrus nodded as he latched the last clasp of his case. Standing he gave a small salute wave to the camera in the corner that linked to Luna. "Copy that Luna. I'm on my way."

As he entered the cockpit Nihlus was simple waiting for him, proof that Luna had relayed that he was on his way. When he took his seat Nihlus gave a nod as he turned to his controls. "Alright Luna. Takes us up and out in stealth mood. Go as quite as you can deary. We don't want them knowing we were here."

"Of course, Nihlus. Moving out now. Once we are at a safe distance I will set a course to our destination." Garrus raised a brow plate slightly. 'Our destination?' Just where were they going that Luna didn't simple say it. Nihlus seemed to notice Garrus's unease.

"I need to meet a contact before we go after our guy. We usually meet rather close to the war zone. It will be a quick trip. One that I will go on alone." Garrus watched his mentor with slightly narrowed eyes. After minute he gave a small nod and tuned away. It was common for Spectres to have contacts. It was also common for them to not trust anyone other than the Spectre. He was still new to the game. He really shouldn't expect Nihlus to tell him all of his secrets and contacts when he hasn't even been with him a year. Nihlus was trusting but not stupid trusting.

The flight to the 'destination' was a quite one, besides for a few words exchanged ever once in a while or when it was required. As they neared the planet Garrus tried not to identify it at all. It wasn't his business after all.

Nihlus rose from his chair as he looked out the window. "Alright Luna. You know where to land. I'm going to get ready, go ahead and send the data to the data pads in my room."

He gave Garrus a small look before he turned and moved down the hallway as the ship began to descend to the ground. Garrus tried to busy himself with some task but nothing seemed to derail his train of thought. An unknown planet near human space where a lone turian was to meet with an unknown contact. There was to much there to be uncomfortable able. It didn't help when Nihlus returned exchanging his dark armor for casual clothing. He must really trust this contact. In his hand he held two data pads. The look on his face was clearly that of being puzzled.

"Luna, there are only two data pads... Is that really all you have right now?" He didn't seem angry. To Garrus the older turian sound worried, almost a little sad. After a few seconds Luna's voice filtered around them.

"That is all the information that I can supply at the moment. It will be more than enough for him."

Garrus looked to Nihlus who gave a small nod and moved towards the hatch. Green meet blue as Nihlus looked back to him. "She's all yours until I get back. Should be just a few hours." With that he was gone and the hatch door shut.

I was only a few minutes after he left that Garrus started to grow very bored. A sigh left him as he stood and stretched. It did not take long for Luna to notice. It must have been part of program to view vitals or something like that.

"So Mr. Garrus it seems that we have the ship to ourselves. Is there anything that you request to do? We could play a game. Or watch a vids."

Garrus bit back a laugh as he looked up towards where he believed the program watched him. "I was not aware that you were interested in vids..." Turning he began to walk towards the mess area. If he had some down time he might as well get something to drink. What would be better than some Turian ale. As he walked Luna continued their conversation. Best thing about talking to a computer that was integrated into the ship, you could walk away and not feel rude.

"Vids are a very informative source of data on the customs and habits of races that I am not privy to. I do not have data on social aspects of most races. Almost all of my data revolves around the ship and ship related events such as fire fights. Since Nihlus acquired me I have start to develop an interest in learning about other races. Vids seem to be a good source of this information."

By now Garrus was at the mess and looting himself a glass. He had to hand it to Nihlus, he always got the good stuff. Although what Luna said made perfect since it was far to close to AI talk for his comfort. A program that wanted to learn more than what it already was programmed to know. It was things like this that made him question Nihlus. Had his mentor lied to him? And if he did what was the reason? There shouldn't be a problem with Spectre's having an AI. Even if they were against Council space laws there many other things that Nihlus had, such as mods and weapons, that were just as illegal. Why would an AI be any different?

He shook his head to clear his thoughts slightly. There was no reason to ponder on things he couldn't change. And it didn't seem like he would get the truth out of Nihlus anytime soon. Of course he could always sneak into Luna's room and run a diagnostics but he knew that Luna would tell Nihlus and that would be more conflict then he cared to deal with.

Moving back towards the cockpit with his drink in one hand and the bottle in the other hand he spoke to the computer. "Alright then Luna, a vid would be just fine. Do you have a favorite?"

When she spoke there seemed to be amusement in her voice. "That is quite hard to say, since I do not have favorites." He should have known. Programs did not know the meaning of favorites. Even an AI did not have that emotion. It was an organic feeling and even some organics couldn't pick favorites but that is mostly from liking to many items.

"But," Luna continued as he sat down in the pilot seat now that Nihlus was out. "I find the idea of a gun wielding Hanar quite interesting."

Garrus just about lost the liquid he placed in his mouth coughing slightly. It took him a few seconds to regain himself. "Gun wielding hanar? Do you mean Blasto?" He chuckled as he shook his head. "I have to say that that vid would not be an informative one. You won't learn many facts from that story."

He chuckled as he leaned back in the chair taking another sip of his drink. After a moment he began to wonder if Luna was still interested in a vid. When she spoke again he sat back up at her question.

"What would you recommend, Garrus?"

It was really the question that cause him the ponder. It was the way that she said it. The voice almost held caution to it, like she was afraid to ask the question. He turned towards her camera and gave a turian smile. "There are quite a few, but one of my favorites is 'Fleet and Flotilla.' It has a great selection of music."

He waited for her to reply. There was so much that she could have said if she were an organic. Had she been a turian female she probably would have laughed him out the airlock. But since she was only a program he was alright sharing his small little secret. Yes Garrus Vakarian, Spectre candidate and all around tough guy liked a romance movie because of the music.

Instead of more questions or even a comment from the Luna program, a window opened on the screen in front of him. Music that he knew all to well began to play as the opening credits began. He couldn't help but sit back and smile as he watched 'Fleet and Flotilla' with the ships program sipping his turian ale. For the first time in a long time he didn't find himself bored in his down time.


	3. Chapter 3

I knew it would only be a matter of time before the question was asked: When does Shepard make her appearance? I promise Shepard will come along soon. She will not be here this chapter but she will appear in the next one. Do not worry. I'm to much FemShep/Garrus fan for this not to be a story about them. And yes you will learn what Luna is really. Just give it some time. Promise.

On another small note I'm working on getting a beta... I know that I really need one. Once I have one I will work on older chapters and newer ones will be better. It's just moving a little slow. Now on to the good stuff.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Mass Effect but I am currently working on it...

Illium. It was one of those places that you felt safe when you first step into its wonderful cities. That is until you realize that it is just as corrupted and twisted as Omega but with more money. Garrus couldn't stand it. A place where crime was over looked for a profit and people were only out for themselves.

They had tracked their black market dealer here, of course. Here he could sell any shady weapon he wanted without any side effect. Another reason he felt he was going to enjoy being a Spectre. Even if they were out of Council space they could still get the bad guys. They were not tied back by silly red taped laws. It felt good to know justice was going to be carried out. As soon as they found the warehouse they were looking for.

His gaze moved towards Nihlus as he stood leaning against a wall at his left. To anyone walking past it would appear Nihlus was talking to his self but in reality he was linked to Luna. From what Garrus gathered she was going through near by communications and the information that they gathered to determine where the deal was taking place. Once they discovered that then they could set up and take this scum down. It was the waiting that was getting Garrus all wound up.

After what felt like to long Nihlus pushed off the wall with his mandibles flared in a large grin, his green hues dancing. A sign to Garrus that they had it. He couldn't help but return the excited grin.

"That's my girl. Just do what you do Luna, we will be back soon." With that Nihlus shut the com off and looked down the walkway they had been waiting on. Garrus had already began to grow accustomed to the way Nihlus spoke to Luna. It made since that if you were in space for prolonged periods without any company you start to get attached to the closest thing to life you can. It could also explain some of Luna's programing.

"Com chatter puts them in a warehouse about two blocks down in about thirty minutes." With that they began to move towards their destination, Nihlus in the lead with Garrus only a few steps behind him as he explained the situation. "We are looking for a salarian tailed by a very well armed asari. Seems he takes her everywhere. She is his right hand, doing most of his deals and almost all of his talking. From past deals from the information we retrieved Luna believes that he will have about 20 or so men with him."

Garrus nodded as he waited for Nihlus to continue. When he didn't he realized he was waiting for him to analyze the situation and decide what they should do. It was something that he had started to do as of late. Garrus could only guess that it was his way to test him.

Thinking over his different options, his steps slowed slightly as different scenarios played through his mind. After a moment he caught back up with Nihlus and voiced his thoughts so his teacher could grade him.

"There is the option to go in guns blazing and take out everyone inside. But even though that would be the more entertaining route there is a chance our baddy may slip out in the middle of the fire fight. There is also the option of slipping in with his guard detail and getting him when they least expect it. But that has to many chances of having flaws. So the only real option is to get there early, set up out of sight and wait till we have him in our cross-hairs."

He looked over to Nihlus who held one mandible up and the other slightly relaxed, a large smirk. Garrus could tell from that look that he like the answer. He couldn't help himself, he felt a small swell of pride. Sure it was an easy question but he had pleased his mentor. And a pleased mentor was a step closer to becoming a Spectre.

As they walked they began to form something of a plan, but without seeing the inside of the warehouse they were flying somewhat blind. As they came upon the doors of the warehouse they noticed two guards on alert. Of course they would have guards, to keep people from doing exactly what they were planning.

Nihlus turning and began to talk to Garrus about the nagging mate that was simply going to have to wait up for him tonight because he was having a guys night out. Garrus supplied replies where they were needed but kept his main focus on the surroundings. As they were exiting the sight of the two guards he pointed towards the doors that led to the warehouse beside their target. As they slipped in Garrus looked to Nihlus as was about to ask their next action but Nihlus gestured to him to stay silent.

He followed as Nihlus moved through the warehouse to the far wall that sat next to their target warehouse. If Nihlus had a plan on how to get through he had no clue what it may be. As they neared the wall Nihlus's gaze traveled upwards to the sky walk that was above the warehouse and led to the roof. Moving over towards the ladder he began to climb followed soon by Garrus. It only took a few minutes for them to reach the roof of the current warehouse and move over to the edge of the roof.

Nihlus too a step back before he jumped the small distance. Garrus let his gaze drift down to the ground that was so far down he could barely see it in dim light. Stepping back as Nihlus had done he launched himself to the next roof over.

After landing he took note that their were no guards at all. No one must have expected an attack from the roof. Or maybe by thought no one be foolish enough to attack he period. Either way it seemed thing were going to go a bit easier.

Moving over to the skylight next to Nihlus he raised. brow plate in question. Nihlus nodded as he points to the sky walk under the window. It was lined with with boxes and crates, most likely black market items. But Garrus saw them as something else all together. Cover.

The next few minutes found Garrus and Nihlus slipping into the warehouse and finding cover on the skylight on either side of the warehouse. Both had pulled out their sniper rifles and were waiting for the so called meeting to start.

As Garrus sat he tried to not let his mind wonder to much. But other thoughts began to enter his mind for the lack of something to do. He began to think of what life will be like if he did he make Spectre. How would it be to be on his own completely? He wondered what kind of ship he may get as his very own. And that thought led him to Luna. Maybe Nihlus would let him copy the program, or at least tell him where he got it from. He had a feeling that he would go a little mad without someone to talk to. Hell even a VI would be preferable to no one. But their was something about the Luna program, something almost personal. After have the advantage of having her almost run the ship and be quite the interesting conversation partner he had become spoiled.

It was at that thought that the doors creaked open and two groups moved into the warehouse to stand in the middle of the room. As the door began to shut Garrus moved to his scope to scan the crowd until he found the asari that stood next to the salarian that everyone seemed o be looking to. He placed the cross-hairs in between her eyes as he waited. Across the room Nihlus would be lining up the same shot but with the salarian. Taking deep breaths even breaths he waited for the doors to finish closing and to lock. As they did Garrus couldn't help but realize the lack of sound. The cocky salarian had sound proofed the room so no one would ease drop on his deal. Now that was going to come around and bite him in the ass.

A small click echoed in his ear piece, the sign from Nihlus. He took a breath and counted to two before he pulled the trigger. The asari dropped before she could react to her boss losing his head just a second before. Between Nihlus and himself they dropped five more with their rifles before the rest fully understood what was gong on.

Now it was a true firefight, with the guards all hidden behind crates on the lower floor and Nilus and Garrus perched high picking off stragglers. With their positioning they had the advantage, not just from the elevation but from the fact that when one would be hiding from Nihlus he was right in Garrus's sight. They really didn't have anywhere to hide that one of the two turian might find them.

It was when Garrus was begging to worry about his heat sink supply and was about to switch to his assault rifle that he heard Nihlus's voice over the com. " That's the last of them. Ready to get out of here?"

Garrus chuckled slightly as he slid his assault rifle away on his back. "Just my luck too. I was actually starting to be entertained."

Nihlus joined his chuckle as he met him at the ladder to the roof. It was smarter to go the way they came, just in case their were guards waiting outside. "Well if you want to be entertained just wait. I have a few tings to pick up for the ship that is going to make things a bit more... entertaining..." He chuckled once more and Garrus couldn't help but raise a brow plate to him. Just what was the Spectre planning?

Garrus sat in the copilot seat, reading his private messages at the terminal. Right after they got out of the warehouse area Nihlus had run off to do some shopping, so he claimed. So that left Garrus to return to the ship alone and wait. And wait. And wait. He was in the middle of contemplating a nap when the doors opened to reveal Nihlus carrying a large crate with two small boxes on top. As the door shut behind him he set the crate down as Luna created him.

"Welcome back Nihlus. From the crate and your expression I believe it is wise to say that your shopping trip was a success."

Nihlus nodded as he picked up one of the boxes and tossed it to Garrus. "Yes it was my dear. I believe you will be delighted when you see what I got you." He picked the crate back up as he looked to Garrus who was reading the label on the box. "Holo Image XF-456?" His brow plate rose as he looked to his mentor who smirked back.

"I'm going to go set u the program and the other holo in the mess. I assume that you can handle that one?" Nihlus said all to eagerly. And could Garrus really blame him? A body to talk to would be much more comfortable, even if the body was a holo projection. He gave Nihlus a nod as he began to open the box and take out all the pieces.

He had just finished putting it together and attaching it to the console when Nihlus returned. He seemed over excited, like a child with a new toy. Garrus couldn't help but smile as Nihlus's good mood rubbed off onto him. As Nihlus took the main seat he brought up a few windows and spoke to Luna.

"Alright Luna. Whenever you are ready beautiful." His gaze never left the screen but he spoke now to Garrus. "I stumbled across this holo program recently. Is the newest one and still not fully test. That's why its only available here. But it seems like it work with Luna so we figured we would give it a shot."

Garrus nodded as he watched the diagnostics scroll by in one of the windows. "It will be quite refreshing to not feel like I am talking to myself when we have conversations. And I'm sure you feel the same way." Nihlus nodded and was about to say something when the console went black and the ship died around them. It was only a moment before all the lights were back on and the ship was humming happily. Nihlus began to tap away at the panel in front of him.

"How we doing Luna? You still there?" As the silence greeted him, Garrus's worry began to grow as well as Nihlus's. It was when Nihlus began to rise from the chair that the heard a voice.

"I'm sorry that I made you wait. The transfer was a little bumpy but all systems are normal. The program is installed and running. Starting projection now."

Garrus watched the relief fill Nihlus as he sank back into the chair. He offered Garrus a small flick of his mandibles in a gesture of a smile before turning his gaze behind them. Garrus followed the gaze until he found a small spot of light on the ground, product of the holo projector he had just finished installing. Slowly an image began to build from the toes up.

It was clear by the time the figure had knees that it was either a drill or an asari. It very well could be a human but he doubted it. Because of the war they were still not that popular. A few were sighted every once in a while, but usually not for long. As the waist came to view he took note that the figure was wearing the normal asari dress of pants with the long sleeve tunic on top. The whole dress set was a pure white with light blue trim, very bright in the holos light. The figure was also built a little odd, more skinner and smaller than most asari he had seen before. But as Nihlus said it was still in the trial period, some flaws were expected. The asari face that materialized was not a surprise but that fact that it was a pure white asari with matching silver eyes did. Asari usually came in a few shades of blue and purple. It was so odd for him to see one out of hat color range. As he looked her over he knew that Nihlus was doing the same. After a few minutes the holo spoke.

"Is this a suitable projection?" If Garrus didn't know any better he would have thought that the projection seemed almost nervous, like she was unsure if her appearance would please them. As she stood waiting for Nihlus to speak Garrus took a real close look at her. Despite the face that the image was an asari, she looked the least like any asari he ever saw. It was not only in the coloring, he could atone that to the fact that she was a holo. It was just her general structure. Her body as well as her face did not scream asari, not even that of a young asari. Her face was softer and seemed to have more subtle edges. Once again he simply atoned it to the holo being a prototype. After a moment Nihlus stood from his chair and moved over to the projection with a smile.

"Luna, Luna, Luna... You did wonderful." He moved a hand up to try and trace her jaw but it simple went right through the halo. He shook his head slightly before looking to Garrus. It seemed he wanted his input.

Moving out of the chair Garrus moved to stand beside Nihlus. After a moment he offered her a smile as well. "It is nice to finally see you, Luna."

It took a moment but slowly the holo began to grin a large smile to the two turians. It was with that that Garrus realized if he wasn't already spoiled on the Luna program, that after this he would be.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm loving the reviews guys. It makes me all warm an fuzzy on the inside. Remember people, reviews are like crack to authors. The more I get the faster I wright more chapters. It makes me all kinds of excited.

Also I am still not amazing at the whole action/fighting scenes just yet. Try and bare with me. I will work on getting better. As well as still waiting on my beta to reply. I just am really excited about this chapter and wanted to get it to you as quickly as I could. I will repost edited chapters once I get my beta going...

Disclaimer: Still no word from BioWare about owning Mass Effect. But I'll keep working on it...

It was without fail. If it was a merc base or some kind of bad guy hangout, they always seemed to have a few krogans to send at them. It was almost like there was some evil store in space that had a sale on them. 'Thinking of starting that evil base you always wanted? Well if you act now you get a dozen krogan thugs for free with any order over 5000 credits.'

A small grunt escaped Garrus as his back painfully made contact with the wall behind him, courtesy of the overly energetic krogan who now was pinning him to said wall. Such a lovely day it turning out to be.

It had start off as a simple go and investigate a missing ship and quickly turned into taking out an entire pirate base. Nothing ever seemed to be easy when Nihlus was involved. Or maybe it was just a Spectre thing. Not that he didn't mind fully. By why did they always set up bases in such nasty places. A firefight on a remote beach would be wonderful, maybe a cocktail to go with it. Surely he could take out a few mercs or pirates with one hand, right?

Well maybe not this guy. Garrus's attention was pulled back to the krogan who was so close to his face shouting threats about ripping off face plates and mandibles that Garrus could smell the rot of whatever the krogan had been eating recently.

Turning his hip slightly Garrus brought up a knee and made contact with the krogans quads. As the krogan shift back slight, not fully effected by an attack like that, Garrus had enough room to drop his rifle and reach up and to his back to retrieve his assault rife. Before the krogan cold fully react Garrus unfolded the rife and placed the barrel between the krogans eyes. He had enough time to smirk before he pulled the trigger and unloaded a full clip into the hulking masses head.

As the krogan was pushed back and down with the assault Garrus was able to ease down to put his full weight on his feet. Taking a step over to the unmoving krogan he worked on switching out thermal clips. It was as Nihlus was walking over that Garrus finished and put the nose of the rifle to what was left of the krogans head.

"That should be the last of them. I have sent out messages to the owners of the missing ships. The should arrive any day to gather their cargo that was stolen." His eyes moved to the krogan as his head tilted slightly. "I think you got him... Any more and there won't be a head left."

Garrus chuckled slightly as he looked up to Nihlus. "You know these guys... Always have one last come back..." With that a small grunt came from the mass on the floor. Without another word Garrus pulled the trigger and did not ease up until there really wasn't anything left to be thought of as a head. Nihlus chuckled once again and shook his head.

Turning away from him Nihlus began to move towards the door. Garrus chanced one last look to the yellow splatter all around him, including all over his armor, before he moved after Nihlus.

To keep up with the bad guy nasty place theme, they made their way out of the base and into the pouring rain. Thankfully it washed away the blood and other fluids that had found their way to their armor but it replaced it with mud and put Garrus into more of a sour mood. His shoulder was starting to sting from its recent acquaintance with the wall.

After the long, soggy and dirty hike to the ship, Garrus mimicked Nihlus's sigh as they stepped out in the airlock. As the door opened to the ship a white smiling face greeted them with her hands tucked behind her back. Although the holo's eyes looked them up and down it was odd knowing she was not viewing them fro her eyes but from the camera that was tucked away in the corner. After a moment the holo finally spoke to them.

"It seems that the mission was a success. I have turned the ships temperature up a few degrees, readied both your showers to a comfortable setting and have both armor cleaning kits on stand by. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Nihlus offered her a smile as he moved to stand beside her. "Luna I have no idea how I survived before you. You are a product of the Spirits. I swear it." He chuckled once more before moving to his room. Luna's holo turned her head to 'watch' him before she turned back to look at Garrus.

It had been about a month and a half since Luna had received her holo upgrade. And where Nihlus didn't know what he did before her, Garrus couldn't imagine what he would do without her once he left his mentors ship. He was none the wiser of what she really was and no closer of getting it out of Nihlus. But she had become a crutch, he hated himself for admitting. On days where their was a mission it was her soft voice that woke him from his slumber. When a mission was ruff she would have the ship waiting and ready when they returned. When they docked anywhere she had a list made up of the supplies they were running low on. Even on his days where he had nothing to do he found himself holding conversations with her or in cases like two months ago and Nihlus was not around or locked in his room they watched vids together.

Garrus had never found himself greatly attracted to other races before. Not in the since that he pursued them or thought any to be desire worthy. But there was something different about the Luna program. It wasn't like he was sexually attracted to her. That would be wrong wouldn't it? He kept those thoughts as far away from his mind as possible. But there was an attraction there. A desire for her company. To simple have her around for as long as he could.

Coming back to himself he offered her a smile and a small nod. "Yes, Luna. You really help us out. Do you know what mission we have lined up next."

A smile graced the holos lips once more before her silvery eyes met his. "As of now the mission is to get you both clean and rested. Once you wake and eat dinner then we can discuss the next mission."

Garrus chuckled as he raised his hands in defeat. "Alright mother, I'm going." Turning he began to walk down the small stretch of hallway to the mess area and his room. She called out to his from where her holo program stopped at the entrance to the hall.

"Your rifle will be able to wait for a cleaning after you yourself are clean, Garrus. It will not do you any favor to clean your rifle with dirty hands." With that the holo flickered before disappearing. Garrus couldn't hold back the smile that rose to his mandibles. Did the program already know him so well?

It was several hour later that found Garrus and Nihlus sitting at the mess table eating a hearty dinner. The pirate mission had taken the better part of the day, with them munching on ration bars. So needless to say they were quite hungry. It was as Nihlus was moving to place his clean dish in the sink that he finally spoke to Luna.

"Alright deary, what is next on our agenda?" He stayed by the sink, leaning back slightly to rest against the counter. As he spoke the holo asari flickered into being as she smiled up to the taller turian. That was another oddity about the holo that Garrus had discovered. Her face was that of an older asari but her height seemed to be to short, more like a child's. Her height caused the holo to reach his shoulder. But once more he shrugged it off to being a glitch in the holo program.

"While you were resting a message came from the Council. There has been negotiations between the turian and the humans. It seems that they are beginning to reach an understanding. But the Council is interested in reports of a human ship that is attack other races and taking the occupants aboard. They are requesting we look into the matter and determine if it is human and if it is, discovered just who they are and what they are doing. I have already set our course to the last location they were spotted." Her voice grew a slight bit hesitant as she spoke. Her eyes never left Nihlus's as he looked back to her with a worried glaze.

Finally Nihlus spoke with a soft sigh. "Seems like they are back at it again, huh?" Garrus's eyes moved between the holo and the elder turian. when it seemed no one was going to continue he spoke up. "Just exactly who is back?"

Nihlus seemed a little taken aback, like he had forgotten Garrus was there. But it was Luna who spoke, here holo eyes falling to meet his. "Cerberus..."

Garrus was now the one that was taken aback. He had heard rumors of Cerberus back when he was doing his time in the war. An organization that was human based and only cared about making humans top of the galaxy. His brow plate rose as he looked over to Nihlus.

"'They are back'? Have you had a run in with them before?" With all the stories he had heard, Garrus could only claim them as stories, seeing as anyone who had ever been taken by Cerberus never seemed to come back. Alive anyway. Nihlus gave a small nod as his eyes drifted back to Luna.

"I came across one of their bases a few years ago. Stumbled upon it actually. It seemed to be one of their smaller bases and they were just as surprised to see me as I was to see them. It wasn't easy but I fought my way out and blew the base. Took me a few days to recover." His eyes dropped to the floor as Luna's eyes seemed to narrow slightly.

"It in fact took you 12 days to recover fully from the incident." She once again appeared worried which cause Garrus to become even more worried. Looking between the two of them he offered a bit of reassurance. "At least this isn't a base right? I mean its a ship that seems really food at demobilizing other ships. We are small and can evade almost anything they can throw at us. Plus we have Luna to help out so they won't know what hit them."

Nihlus seemed to be ready to correct him when a small beep echoed down the hallway. Luna stood straighter and her eyes grew wide as she looked to Nihlus. "Unknown ship making a fast approach..." He nodded quickly as he moved at a brisk pace down the hall, Garrus hot on his heels. The holo of Luna met them at the cockpit, her face turned towards the screen.

"Weapons systems are primed and ready, shields are at full strength, waiting your orders.." Nihlus nodded once more to her as he slipped into the pilot seat, Garrus in the seat beside him.

Crystal blue eyes watched Nihlus as he began to ready himself. He was very worried about something, not just about the attack. Garrus had seen him in the face of all sorts of odds. He always held some sort of calm and almost humor to any situation. It was very odd that he was lose so much focus now.

As the ship grew near Luna stepped up behind them, worry even in her appearance, another AI not AI moment for Garrus to think about later when they were not under attack. Luna's voice was quite as so spoke to them. "Ship identified as Cerberus. Com link is being requested..." Her eyes shifted to Nihlus who offered her a small smile.

"Patch them through, Luna." A small nod from Luna before her holo disappeared. Garrus took a moment to ponder that before letting his attention drift to the message window that opened in front of Nihlus.

A human man sat looking at the screen with a smirk that could only be described as dastardly. His finger were locked together and posed in front of his black goatee. He had an air of military to him as he sat high in his chair. When he spoke it was with an almost cocky undertone. "Well, well.. look what I caught in my net. Here we are on a normal exploration looking for new friends and we stumble across the turian thief. Won't the Illusive Man be excited to know we found you."

Nihlus gave a small growl as his finger danced over the control panel. Garrus let his eyes drift over to see what he was doing. He almost chuckled as he looked at the specs of the ship that was facing them. Although it was larger it didn't have half the fire power that Nihlus's ship held. But its shields were something to admire. So it was going to be a close fight. He was brought back to the conversation by Nihlus bashing his teeth at the man on the screen.

"I did not steal anything from you. I simply freed her." The man on the screen did not seem amused by Nihlus in the least. His hand dropped as he pointed to the turian. "You will return Luna even if we have to retrieve her from your destroyed ship. Fire at will!"

The human screamed the last order as Nihlus ship shook, a shot just barely missing the ship. Nihlus quickly went to work flying the ship around the Cerberus ship. "Luna search for a weakness. Garrus," His eyes turned to Garrus and saw the anger in the blue gaze. It was clear why Luna was so alien to him. She was product of Cerberus. He shook his head to the younger turian to show that they would talk about it later. "I need you to work the guns until Luna finds a weak spot."

Garrus nodded as Nihlus turned the ship quickly to the left to dodge the blast, sadly it was not quite quick enough. The beam brushed against the underside of the ship. A few sparks began to flicker on the edge on the console. Nihlus cursed before he looked to the screen. "Come on, Luna... We need something here."

Garrus quickly went about firing the main gun at the Cerberus ship, among mostly for the other ships underbelly. It was an unknown ship to him, he had never been inside a Cerberus ship so he had no idea where the drive core may be. Another blast hit the side of Nihlus's ship causing it to rock and the lights to flicker. Another curse was muttered under Nihlus's breath as he dodged to the side. "Damn it Luna. I need something NOW!"

A beep on the panel told him that shields were starting to fail. It was then that Luna's voice rose with a small amount of urgency. "I've located a weakness! Aiming all guns now. Ready to fire on your mark."

Nihlus growled slightly as he watched the Cerberus ship turn and aim its gun at them. It was now or never. "Fire now, Luna!" The ship shook as the guns all fired at once. There was a moment both turian held their breath, waiting. Then the space outside the window lit up as the side of the Cerberus ship exploded. It did not fully explode but the ship was not going to be fighting back. A shock wave turned the ship on its side as well as caused Nihlus's small ship to shudder, the lights once again flickering before going out.

As the back up systems came on line Nihlus began to run a check. "Main power is on. We still have engines as well as environment. The importance stuff. How are you Luna?" At first silence met them before text appeared on the screens before them.

_'I apologize for the lack of communication. The feed back wave knocked a few of my systems out. Audio and visual on my end are out. I can still hear your side.'_

Nihlus nodded as he sat back and nodded. "Alright then Luna. Go ahead and get to repairing what you can. And get a list together of what you can not fix and I will take a look at it tomorrow. For now start us towards the nearest port for repairs, slowly." His eyes moved over towards Garrus with a sigh. "If you want to talk about Cerberus I will need a drink first." Garrus nodded and chuckled as he rose from his seat.

"And I'm pretty sure I will need one after you explain everything..." Turning away he moved down the hall, Nihlus behind him, and headed towards the kitchen area.

A few moments later they were sitting at the small table each holding a glass of ale. Nihlus's eyes were on his glass while Garrus looked over Nihlus's shoulder towards Luna's room. After a moment he finally spoke.

"So Luna is a program made by Cerberus?" Nihlus seemed a little surprised by what Garrus asked which surprised Garrus himself. Why would Nihlus not expect that question? But instead of going into that Nihlus began to explain Luna.

"She was created by Cerberus in a since. They simple altered something that already existed. They believed they owned her. So when I stumbled upon the lab and happened upon her I knew that she was special. I only had enough time to gather the basics on her before grabbing her and running. I've stayed out of Cerberus's radar so they don't find her. That is until now."

Garrus nodded as he took a sip of his drink, taking in what Nihlus said. He thought a moment before looking back to the door. "Why not tell the Council about her? Coping her system could help a lot of ships. She is very useful technology."

Garrus was once again taken aback by Nihlus, as he now seemed angry, his eyes trained on the table in front of him. "They would take her from me, see what makes her run. When I would gt her back, if I would get her back, there was a high chance she would not be the same. I couldn't take that chance."

Garrus could understand Nihlus, simply from being with Luna for a few months. What if he had here for years? Would he be able to give her up. Most likely not. He simply nodded to Nihlus before looking to his glass. He heard Nihlus shift as he stood and downed the rest of his ale.

"There is nothing we can do now for the systems. If you are like me you only got about an hour nap in. We might as well call it a night and get some rest. We have a long day of repair tomorrow." He offered Garrus a nod which he returned. His eyes stayed on Nihlus as he watched him disappear into his room.

Garrus sat at the table for a moment longer, slowly finishing his drink, before he stood and moved to his room. As the door shut behind him he let his shoulders drop. It was a lot of information to take in in one sitting. He thought it over as he began to strip out of his armor. What did that say about him if he liked a human program. It wasn't that he hated humans in the since he wanted to kill them. He just never met one that he really liked. Though granted most of the humans he meet were on the other side of the battlefield.

Now stripped down to nothing he laid down on his bed, arms raised to rest under his head. He had been thought all his life to not hold any respect for human kind, simple because his race was at war with them. There were always stories of some trick or evil plot a human thought up. Most turian didn't even know the difference between the Alliance and Cerberus. It all ran together in their minds.

But Nihlus said that Luna was something else before Cerberus got a hold of her. Maybe she was a turian or asari program turned human. Maybe that's why she was so odd yet he seemed to get along with her. It would also explain her need to learn. He signed as he moved to a comfortable position, getting ready for sleep. Before he shut his eyes he looked up to the camera.

"Good night, Luna." It was the first time since his stay on the ship that he didn't receive a reply. And he hated to admit that it bothered him. Pushing those feelings to the side as he shut his eyes to sleep.

He wasn't sure how long he slept before he was pulled out of his rest. At first he wasn't sure what had awoken him. Until he noticed the lack of humming coming from the room next door. That was not a good sign. Standing he reached over and pulled on the lower half of his under armor. If Luna was down then he would need to wake Nihlus, if he wasn't already up, and get to work on fixing her. It was then that he heard a faint noise.

He knew it was coming from the cockpit, and it was not a normal sound. There were small clanks and a hushed voice talking to themselves. He could not hear what they said but it was clearly not Nihlus. If they were under attack then he didn't have time to put on all of his armor. Moving into the hallway he searched for his pistol. Seeing it made him feel slightly better, even more so once the weight was in his hands. Moving down the hallway he let his eyes search ahead of him, the pistol aimed to the ground.

As he approached the cockpit he saw the last thing he wanted to see. A human ducked under the control panel, fiddling with tools. His only thought was that it was Cerberus. But how had one of their operatives make it aboard the ship? That was sure to be one of the many questions he would ask them.

As he neared the human he trained the gun to the figures back. They were dressed in a simple black tank top and pants. It must have been what was under their space suit. He could not see the figures coloring clearly but the hair from their head hung down to their mid-back. He thought at first that only females wore their hair like that, but later learned even men sometimes wore their hair long. He still couldn't tell the gender but he would soon.

Placing the gun a few inches from their back he spoke softly as not to startle them to much. "Put your hands where I can see them, stand up and turn around slowly."

He couldn't help the smirk as the figure jumped slightly and cursed as their hands rose into the air, the tool in their hand dropping. Slowly the figure rose with a sigh. Garrus looked the figure over and determined that it was a female. Human females always had thinner waist then shoulders, something he found odd. He kept his gun aimed to her as she slowly turned.

It was not her face, or her clothing, even the look she gave him that made him falter slightly. It was her eyes. Even with only the back up lights on he could see the intensity of her pale eyes. They stood out against her dark hair and tan skin.

It was the falter that aloud her to make her move. As she took the first step towards him she dropped her shoulder. Her next step rose it back up under his gun before he could react. Her arm came up and took hold of his wrist to control the gun. By ow he had regained his bearings and was on the offensive. Sacrificing the gun that now was useless he released his hold. Twisting his wrist he took hold of the hand that held him. Since the arm was crossed in front of her she simple ducked under his arm to untwist her own, twisting his as she appeared on his far side. He only had a moment to react before he noticed a foot coming over his shoulder and towards his face.

He released her as he took a step back to avoid the hit. She took that moment to begin to run toward the hallway, it must have been where she had come in at. Not wanting her to get away, especially if she had already taken Luna he lunged at her. She must not have been expecting his speed because all she could do was hold her arms up as he garbed her and slammed her against the wall.

One arm rest against her waist while the other was at a tilt hold her chest down with a taloned hand around her throat. He growled as he leaned in close, please to see and smell a small amount of fear mixed with something else spread across her features. "Alright Cerberus... What have you done with Luna?"

Surprise filled her eyes for a moment before a smirk pulled at her lips. Her finger moved up to hold the hand around her throat. It seemed she was trying to get some relief from the pressure. He growled once more as he pushed her body against the wall just a bit harder.

"I am not in the mood to play detective, Cerberus. Either you tell me what you are doing here or I will-" He did not get to finish his threat as a hand grabbed him by his crowl and for fully pulled him away from the human. Expect Cerberus back up Garrus turned quickly with a fist raised, ready to attack his attacker.

Nihlus blocked the hit with the arm not holding his crowl. Once Nihlus could see the recognition in Garrus's eyes he let him go. They stood looking to each other before a small round of coughing caught their attention. They both turned to watch the human stand from the floor where she dropped, her hair now hanging slightly in her face and over her shoulder. Nihlus stepped over to move the hair back over her shoulder, checking her neck where Garrus had been holding her.

Nothing was making since to Garrus. There was a human on the ship. One that he could swear was not there before. Nihlus seemed to know her, or at least was not surprised to see her. At the moment he was looking her over with worry and care. Garrus's brow plate rose as Nihlus smirked to the human and she smiled back.

Her smile stirred something in Garrus, something like dread or fear. There was something about that smile that stuck his memory and he didn't like it. After a few moments Nihlus sighed and spoke.

"It looks like you are fine... All that money spent seems to have paid off.." His eyes moved to Garrus with a small twitch of his mandible. Was that shame or embarrassment? Nihlus tilted his head towards the hall. "I guess another drink is in order..."

Garrus growled slightly as he stared down his mentor. "A a great deal more of an explanation." His eyes moved to the human as she looked to him and then turned to walk down the hall. It wasn't that there was a human on the ship that bothered him. That was a lie, it did bother him. But not as much as the fact that Nihlus had someone hidden on the ship. If he told him it would have been easier. It was an issue of trust. A voice traveled down the hallway as Nihlus and Garrus moved after the human. At first Garrus was filled with relief in the thought that Luna was back online. But as he realized where the voice came from he understood why her smile had made him so uneasy. It almost felt as though the ground slipped out from under him.

"Nihlus... Does this mean I can stop pretending to be a damn program?" A chuckle came from beside Garrus as his eyes turned towards Nihlus, his eyes wide. Surely it was a joke? Surely it was all a big misunderstanding. Surely she wasn't...

"Yes it does, Luna..."


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the delay darlings... I'm still waiting on a Beta reader. But I haven't heard from anyone yet. So I have two questions for you all. First would you rather me continue to update and wait for a beta reader? Or would you rather I hold off on all chapters until I can have someone read over it all.

The second question is about later chapters. I plan on adding M rated smut like goodness to the story. So I ask would you rather me change the rating and have a chapter that is only the romance so those who don't want to read it can skip over it. Or would you rather me post it in a whole separate story on the site and just hint to it in this story. The majority rules on this one darlings so if you have an option please leave me a comment or a PM if need be. Now on with the show!

Disclaimer: Despite my deepest desire I own nothing Bioware related...

The galaxy had turned upside down on Garrus. Up was down, down was purple and the wonderful AI program that he had grown so close to was really a human girl. It was something he was having difficulty wrapping his head around.

As they entered the mess area the human moved over to a panel in the wall and began to fiddle with a few wires. It was only a few seconds before the lights flickered to full light. Her gaze moved to the two turians that waited at the table for her. "At least I got that back up and running..."

Nihlus gave a small sigh as he raised a hand up to rub his brow plate. He spoke to her as he turned to pour drinks for Garrus and himself. "Is that why you were out and about? You are aware that we had planned on fixing that in the morning..." Garrus watched as Nihlus gave her a smile that showed he was not as upset. Maybe he had been waiting for her to be discovered. Maybe he didn't like keeping her a secret from Garrus.

Closing the panel she moved over to the table and sat in a chair looking to them. "While you two are alright with the heat of the ship now, I was almost melting in my room. I was trying to get the air and lights back on. Just some basic repair work. Since you two didn't look at the damage fully before you went to bed I could get away with fixing a few systems here and there.." She sighed as she raised a hand to move hair off her sweating brow.

It the light Garrus could take in her full appearance. Now it was clear why the asari holo seemed so odd, it was modeled after her own form. When she was standing she would reach right at about his shoulder. Her frame was small and almost childish in his opinion, but he was not an expert in human. Her eyes were the same icy silver as the ones that the holo. When his gaze moved to her eyes she looked up to him, locking silver with blue. For a second it was almost like he was looking at the holo that he had grown to think of as an odd friend. Really the only thing that changed from holo Luna to human Luna was her slightly tanned skin, those small little human ears and the long deep red hair that hung down her back and slightly across her forehead. Such an oddity, hair. No other race had hair that he had seen. There were stories of quarians having hair under their helmets but at this point no one really knew.

His eyes broke contact with hers as he looked towards the glass Nihlus offered him. Staring to the glass he raised a brow plate. "So how much of what you told me was a lie?"

Nihlus chuckled that chuckle as he shook his head. "Nothing... Everything I told you was the truth." Garrus bit back a growl as he glared at Nihlus. He was about to call him out on calling Luna a program when he realized, Nihlus never referred to her as a program. Garrus himself was the one that called her a program. The only thing Nihlus had ever said was that she was the closest thing to an AI you could get with actually being an AI. Garrus's eyes moved back to Luna who sat with one hand behind her ear and the other holding the elbow resting on the table.

"So what exactly is your story?" He had a feeling he wasn't going to like it but he needed to hear it. Besides it was only fair, she had asked him so much about his life as program Luna. She owed him that much.

A small smirk pulled at her lips as she looked up to him. With a small shrug of her shoulder she shifted back to lean in the chair, her hand moving from her ear to her chin as she seemed to think of where to start. Finally she looked to him with a small smirk.

"Do you know the name they give people on Earth when no one knows their name?" With his shake of his head she continued with a small nod. "Jane or John Doe, depending on the sex. My brother and I were found on the street when we were very young with no clue as to who we were. So we were named Jane and John. It wasn't until we were adopted by a man named Russell Shepard that we received a last name. But that life was short lived, a few months after we were taken in that the war started. Russell left and never came back. It was a few years later that we found out he was killed in some battle somewhere."

She paused for a second as she watched them. Nihlus had heard it before, Garrus could fell from his relaxed state. Garrus's eyes moved towards Luna- no not Luna, Jane- once more. Her hand fell from her chin to hold her other elbow and continued with her story.

"As soon as John and I turned 18 he decided we should join the Alliance. He was always so strong and had a protective nature. Military life seemed to fit him. But I was never one for fighting, but John couldn't leave me behind. So I followed him anyway focusing mostly on tech and engeniering. So we became a sibling team. He would fight the enemy and I would be behind the lines providing tech support. That is until one battle on a backwash planet. It wasn't even a key battle. But the turians were over running the site and we were working on falling back and evacuating when Cerberus showed up."

Her eyes drifted from Garrus to Nihlus. He shifted uncomfortably. It was clear that this part of the story did not set well with him. With that thought Garrus moved over to sit in front of her in the chair in the other side of the table. He crossed his arms across his chest and crossed his ankles as he stretched out in the chair. Once he appeared comfortable Luna continued once more.

"Instead of waiting for everyone to get out Cerberus began bombing the whole site, human and turian alike. John had already made it to the ship with his team when the blast began to hit. I was finishing grabbing the last bit of intel when the roof feel down on me. I wasn't killed right away but I was damn close to it. Time seemed to go by so slow as I waited for someone to find me. When they finally found me it wasn't who I hoped. Cerberus was searching for anyone who might have lived through the bombing, mostly turians." Her eyes shifted away from his as she looked to the table. He knew without her saying what Cerberus had planed for the captured turians. He gave a small nod as he leaned forward.

"So they took you as prisoner and Nihlus came along and saved you?" She giggled slightly, something that he had not heard from her but seemed to fit. "Something like that..."

Nihlus then spoke up as he moved to stand behind the chair she sat in, a hand on her shoulder. "When I found Luna she was hooked up to so many machines I thought she might be some kind of physical VI. But as I read the files I realized just what she was.."

Garrus raised his brow plate as he looked them both over. "And what exactly are you? What did they do to you?" It seemed she was not 100% human anymore. If that is what Cerberus did to their own kind he didn't want to begin to think what they did to turians.

Luna sat up a little under Nihlus's hand and looked to him slightly. With his nod she sighed and looked back to Garrus. "Their plan was to make a living AI of sorts. A human that could link with a system and interact almost on the same level as an AI. But the process that I would have to undergo would kill any normal human. So I was upgraded so to speak. Skin weaves, fast regeneration, slow pain recognition, those sorts of things. My body can handle more pain than the normal human and can heal quickly. Which came in handy when they opened my head and placed mods inside." She sighed slightly as she stretched her arms out and gave a small yawn.

"Of course I did not end up as perfect as they would have liked. If I had, I'm sure their would be more like me out there. I was designed to be less human and more computer. But it didn't work. I'm still human. But I can process faster than a normal human. Filtering through codes or communications takes one sixth of the time of any normal being." She raised her shoulders once more as if she didn't really care all that much about it. And why should she. She had been like this for two years.

Garrus sighed as he shook his head slightly. It was an information overload really. Just yesterday he thought Luna to be an asari program. Now she is a human that was altered by Cerberus. He looked over her once more taking her in once more. She seemed completely relaxed as she looked to him. He had not been this close to a human before, at least not one that was a prisoner. It was odd to see one looking at him with look that told him she trusted him. And why shouldn't she? How many nights had they sat talking about his life? How often did he tell her how stupid the war was. And how he just wanted to make the galaxy a little more just one mission at a time. Sighing for what felt to be the hundredth time that night he looked to Nihlus.

"Why not take her back to the Alliance? Or even back to Earth?" Nihlus opened his mouth to reply but Jane stepped in to give him his answer.

"I didn't want to go back... I don't want to fight anymore... Not against turians in a war that is pointless. And if the Alliance got ahold of me I'm sure they would try to understand all the text that's inside me. I don't want to live in a lab any longer." Her eyes moved to Nihlus who gave her a reassuring smile. His hand moved to the top of her head and gave it a small reassuring pat. "If she went to Earth or a colony she would be all alone. The only person she really knows and trust that is human is her brother. And he's still serving with the Alliance."

Her eyes moved back to him as she raised one of her shoulder. "Besides I don't think I will be safe there. Cerberus is still after me. The only Earth based force that could keep me safe is the Alliance and well... as I said I would be a test subject. Something to study."

Now Garrus understood why Nihlus hadn't given her to the Council. It seemed that it was true. The only safe place for her was out of any government hands but still protected. Mainly, with a Spectre. A life on the Citadel might be safe. But humans were still not residents so therefore she would stick out. She was in the safest place in the galaxy she could be.

"This is a lot to take in..." He stood and stretched slightly watching she Jane did the same. He had to pause a moment as he watched her twist her spine, giving off a few pops. He knew that humans were flexible but he had never seen it so up close before. Turning his gaze away he focused on the glass in his hand. Finishing the last of the ale he sat the glass down and looked to them once more.

"I am going to go sleep on it. If you'll excuse me. Nihlus." His eyes found hers once more as he hesitated on just what to call her. "Jane..."

She chuckled and shook her head. "Please call me Luna... No one but military brass call me Jane. My brother named me Luna after Earths moon." She smiled a large grin to him as he gave a nod. It was then he could see the connection. Her eyes did have a moon-ish gleam to them. He smirked slightly as he moved towards his room.

"Alright then... Goodnight Luna.." She turned and watched him as he moved through the door. Her hands were locked behind her back as she smiled after him. "Goodnight Garrus."

As the door shut behind his he realized that he liked the way she sounded without the electronic over tone. And that thought made him realize that he very well may be in trouble.


	6. Chapter 6

And simply because the last chapter was far to short I wanted to give you a bonus extra chapter. Make sure to read the questions in the last chapter. They effect the future as a reader and I need your input. ^.^ Thank you guys and here we go...

Disclaimer: Bioware doesn't love me enough to give me Garrus or any off the Mass Effect world...

When Garrus awoke the next morning he did not go about his normal routine of getting dressed, showering and meeting Nihlus to see what the day held for him. At first he didn't even get out of bed, instead he laid in his bed and stared at the roof above him and thought.

Everything seemed so out of order. He didn't know how to approach the subject of Luna, and he planned on staying in his room until he he had a better idea of how to treat the program that in truth was a human.

In all his time on Nihlus's ship he had grown close to Luna. She was always there while Nihlus would sometimes dissapear from time to time. Whenever he needed someone to talk to he would only have to speak and she would reply. And that was quite frequently. They talked about everything, his home, his family, his life in the military, C-Sec, almost everything in his life.

When he spoke to her he simply thought of her as an outlet, almost like a journal. Half the things they talked about he didn't think another living being would hear it, some of it personal. From simple things like his interest in romantic movies for the music to his desire to prove to his father that Spectres were not all alike and to make him proud, something he never voice out loud, even to himself. Now not only had he told a living being, he told a human. He didn't know as much about humans as he should. He didn't know if it was in their nature to share secrets. Who was he to say she wouldn't tell Nihlus, if she hasn't already.

A growl built in his throat as he sat up to rub his face. Turning to sit on the edge of his bed he stared at the ground from between his fingers, elbows on his knees. What was he going to do? Luna had become his companion that he could always turn to whenever he needed. Dare he say she even became something of a close friend. How many times had he told himself, 'If only she was real'? But in his fantasies she was turian or even an asari, although she did not act like either. He never in his wildest imagination think to make her human.

So she was a human. He had to ask himself, did that change anything? He was raised to think of humans as the enemy. But he had never agreed with the war. He had left it as soon as he could and went to C-Sec to be in a neutral area and not have to worry about it. He never really meet a human outside of battle. Maybe they weren't half as bad as what the military told him. If Luna was any basis of comparison then maybe they all weren't so bad.

Finally he stood and made his way to his bathroom to shower. It was clear as soon as he turned the knob that the water was out. With a small mental slap he remembered the plan for the day. Repair the ship so they could get back to full speed. He had left Nihlus and Luna to do it all so far. Suppressing a sigh he dressed and moved out of his room to find them.

The mess area was still lit but empty. He caught sight of the large crate Nihlus had brought aboard when he brought on the holo program. It was open so he had a good sight of all the asari food inside. Most of it was ready made, that way she wouldn't have to leave the room. It had not occurred to him that she had been living in her room the whole time he was aboard. Now he felt a small twang of guilt. She had taken her meals alone. She spent her whole day, every day alone in her room. No wonder she jumped on any conversation he started. She probably needed companionship as much as he did.

He heard Nihlus's laugh from the cockpit as well as a small giggle. With one last mental push of the thoughts bombarding his mind, Garrus moved down the hall. It was now or never, right? Well no he could always hide out in his room and never come out again. But that was a cowards way out.

The sight that awaited him in the cockpit was one that he could never imagine. As he neared the lit area he saw Nihlus, well at least part of him. He was balanced nicely on an overturned crate. Garrus's unasked question of where Luna was was answered as he fully entered the cockpit. The small human was sitting on top Nihlus's shoulders, straddling his cowl. The upper part of her body was lost in the panel above their head, the sound of tinkering heard as she repaired a part of the system. Nihlus's hands were on her calves to keep her steady as he watched what she was doing.

As his eyes feel on the other turian, Nihlus gave him a smirk and a small wink before looking back up towards the human on his shoulders. After a few seconds of silence a soft noise rose out of the hole that half of Luna was hiding in. Garrus couldn't place the noise at first. It held a tune to it, like a muted song. Then he realized that it was coming from Luna. His brow raised slightly as he looked to Nihlus, who chuckled and shook his head slightly.

"She is humming... Watch out. When she gets really caught up in what she is doing she will start to sing." His eyes moved back up to the human as the noise stopped. Her head appeared as she bent to look at him. Garrus looked her over and mentally shook his head. Would he be able accept this human, this alien, as the Luna he had grown so close to? This creature who was so different and odd. He wasn't to sure he would be able to. And then she smiled that bright familiar smile and he thought different.

"Garrus..." Her smile grew even more before she tilted her head a slight bit more. "Good afternoon. I hope you slept well." He offered her a small nod before she disappeared again. For some reason he couldn't find his voice. He had heard her greet him like that many times over. But never had it sounded so personal. He let his eyes fall on the screen that showed the ship readout as the woman continued to speak from above.

"Just a few more circuits to reroute. Once that is complete we should be good to go. Other than physical damage inside and hull damage, that needs to be repaired at port, all systems should be online. Including the showers." A laugh came from Nihlus as he looked up to her.

"That's good because you are starting to smell... Human sweat has a very... interesting smell to it..." He chuckled again as one of her foots raised slightly then came down to kick his chest lightly. But the laugh from above was a sign that she did not take it personal. A small whirling sound came from above as her head reemerged as she looked to him.

"Its not my fault you turians like to keep this ship hotter than July." She laughed and waved her hand as the reference was lost to them. Once again Garrus had to mentally slap himself. Something else he had forgotten about. Humans liked it far cooler than turians. Looking her over he noticed the gleam of sweat on her skin. No wonder she seemed so lightly dressed. To her the ship must be close to unbearable.

His attention was brought back to Luna as she sealed the panel above her. "There, we are good to go now..." She tapped Nihlus head as he smiled and raised his hands. They secured themselves around her waist and lifted her up and over his head before sitting her on the ground. Luna's silvery gaze meet his as she offered him a small smile. His eyes shifted down to where Nihlus hands rested slightly on her waist. He failed to bite back all of the growl that pressed in his chest. Wither it was because Nihlus was doing something like that in public, or if it was because it was with a human, or for a whole other reason he didn't want to think about he did t know. He only knew it rubbed him the wrong way.

Luna's smile faded slightly as she looked up and behind her towards Nihlus. He offered her a smile as one of his hands rose to rub the top of her head. "Good job, deary. Now go get that shower.."

She nodded her head slightly as her smile rose once more. Moving towards the hallway she paused and placed a timid hand on Garrus's arm as she looked up to him. "I can't promise anything... but I hope you will try.. Maybe it will be like it was before? I will do what I can to help." She offered another smile as she gave his arm a small squeeze.

His gaze moved to the hand that was attached to him. He noticed how soft and fleshy the appendage was. But that's how humans were. Soft, squishy, frail... And he had attacked her last night. With his talons even. As her hand began to retreat, her face falling slightly once more, his hand moved quick to catch her wrist.

A small gasp left her lips, an almost pleasant sound, as he pulled her closer. His other hand reached out to move the strands of red cascading over her shoulder out of the way. His thumb moved up to push her chin to the side as he inspected her neck. She should have three tall on marks where he had gripped her. But nothing was there but smooth, flawless skin. A small chuckle came from her as she looked up to him, her cheeks turning a soft pink. What had he learned about that? Green was sick. Blue was out of air. What was red again? Anger...? embarrassment...? A fever...? Humans were so complicated. But it didn't matter now, she was smiling wide and had a hand over his on her neck.

"I told you... I heal very quickly.. I'm okay..." She gave his hand a small pat before he released her. She gave a small nod as she disappeared down the hallway. He watched her until he could not see her anymore. It was then that he was fully aware of Nihlus beside him looking at him with a smirk.

"Did you know when I stumbled across that Cerberus lab I thought all humans were the same. Thought they were the new plague on the galaxy. I wasn't for the war when it started and luckily I did not have to fight. I think the war is a pointless waist of our resources. Though at the time to me humans were more full of themselves then most asari and more hardheaded than the most pain in the ass krogan. I didn't want them dead but I couldn't see their use. Even more so when I saw what the Cerberus bunch as doing to their own race. It takes a messed up race to take hundreds of your own kind and slice them open just to see what you can do to them. I was going to blow the whole place, Luna and all.."

The older turian sighed as he raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. His eyes wondering over to where Luna had disappeared. Garrus waited for him to continue and when he didn't he urged him on. "Then what stopped you? Did you see how useful she could be and decide to take her?"

Nihlus laughed slightly as he shook his head and looked to Garrus. "No not even close. I read what they made her into, what she was capable of and still wanted to destroy her. I felt that I may not be able to keep a hold of her and she may end up in Cerberus's hands once more. I couldn't take the chance I thought. But when I was standing over her, deciding what to do she looked up at me. She woke and looked up right at me, with that damn smile and her eyes... they were so sad..."

He chuckled slightly, an almost sad chuckle as he looked to the control panel behind him. After a second he looked back to Garrus with that sad smile. "She was happy to see me. Me, an enemy of her people. She trusted me on one look and simple smiled at me. She knew I would take it all away, one way or another. And she trusted me to set her free from what they did to her. Ad I knew I couldn't do it. I should have killed her but I couldn't. It was like she had so much pain and sadness that I felt she needed something better. Maybe to prove to myself that there is still good in the universe. Or to prove that I was better than them." He chuckled that sad chuckle before he sighed and looked to Garrus, one shoulder raised slightly. "I guess I was never really a good turian..."

Garrus laughed at that and gave a nod. "Something you and I have in common... I never saw myself as a good turian either." He thought of what he would do in Nihlus's position. Would he have killed the young human girl? He doubted that he would.. but he couldn't say for sure. A hand on his shoulder had him looking to Nihlus once more. He offered the younger turian a smile.

"She placed that trust in you too. When she aloud you to find out about her. I know that it was an accident but she had been thinking about telling you. She trust you and me more than anyone in this galaxy. Even her brother doesn't know fully what happened to her." He gave his shoulder a small squeeze as he tilted his head towards their rooms. "Just try and see her as the same Luna. You never know, you might like this Luna better."

Garrus gave a small chuckle and nod. "I can try... But as she said, no promises." He gave another small smile before he moved down the hall towards the rooms. He had a feeling he was going to be able to stand the human. So far had been okay. So even if he can't there was always the option of avoiding her and pretending she was still a program.

Standing outside her door he waited a moment before he knocked. When no answer was given he knocked again then tried the door. Finding it was unlocked he moved into the room, slightly afraid he was intruding.

Her room really wasn't a bedroom, it was more of a command room. On the far side of the room, the wall they shared, were six screens around a large black chair. Four of the screens sat in a row, each with different streams of data scrolling along. Below were two smaller screens that looked to have junk data, one screen open to a random extranet site, the other paused on some vid. The rest of the room was bare except for the three lockers against the wall, not even a bed. It was odd to think that she must have slept in the chair every night. The sound of music reached his ears as he looked to the far side of the room where their was a faint smell of water. Oh yeah. She was showering.

Realizing that he may be invading on her privacy he was about to turn and leave when the bathroom door opened. He froze mid step as he watched her emerge. Music still hung in the air, her voice singing along as she stepped out with a towel wrapped tightly around her body as another was in her hand rubbing her hair. He remembered hearing that humans were very shy abut their bodies unlike turians. It must have something to do with the overly exposed sexual organs. Turning his head out of respect he cleared his throat so that she knew he was there.

Her singing stopped as she looked up to him with shock. He was a little sad that her voice had died away, I was quite pleasant to listen to but it was a relief that she was not angry. She raised her brow slightly as she looked up to him. While she stood there he took the chance to look her over. The human body was such an oddity. The female one was more like an asari but they seemed to come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. And they appeared to be far more squishy. He took in the soft curve of her chest under the towel, it wasn't as drastic and demanding as an asari. Her chest was paired well with her small waist, a bigger chest would have looked off balanced. His eyes found her legs, exposed from mid thigh down. Simple straight legs. No backwards bend to them or spurs. They were so simple yet odd. And he couldn't forget the mass number of digits on her feet, far to many toes.

His attention snapped back to her eyes quickly as she gave a small laugh. She moved towards the locker with a smile, her eyes still on him. "Was there something you need or did you come for a human anatomy lesson." She chuckled once more at his startled look. Garrus shook his head slightly as he looked away from her now.

"I was coming by to say I'm sorry, for last night... And for not helping today." Her smile rose as she began to pull clothing out of her locker. Her head tilted as she tilted her head to the side. As she did the towel slid down her hair to her shoulder.

"You should not feel sorry for what comes naturally. You thought you were protecting the ship. And as for today.." She smiled as she moved back towards the bathroom, clothing in hand. "We hit you with a lot yesterday. I'm surprised you even came out of your room." She smiled to him once more as she held up a finger for him to wait.

"I'll be right back..." With that she disappeared into the bathroom. Now he was alone once more in her room. At first he stood, not sure of what to do. Then he slowly made his way towards the chair and screens. Easing into the seat he noticed just how large it was. Maybe it was made for a krogan, but the fact was he could fit two of himself in it with little trouble. The smaller human must be able to lay out in the chair length wise and still be comfortable. Why would she need a bed when she had this.

His gaze moved over the screens of data in front of him. The top four was a mass amount of data, something he really didn't want to look at right now, so his gaze moved over to the two smaller screens. The site that was up was simply an equipment site. It looked as though she was looking up upgrades for the ship and the weapons. Maybe she felt they needed to be ready in case they ran across Cerberus again. That left the screen on with the vid. It looked to be paused at the opening, or maybe the ending. There was writing in alien on the screen and a few humans. So she was watching a vid from home. He was debating on wither to push play or not when a voice came from his shoulder.

"It's an old vid from home, one of my favorites." She smiled to him as she leaned over looking to the screen. He looked to her and this first thing he noticed was her hair. What was normally bright red strands of silk was now so ark it was almost black, hung seemed to cling together. Before he could stop himself he reached up and ran a hand through the stands. They broke apart in his fingers to become single strands once more. Raising his hand, he inspected the alien feature closely. It held a sweet smell that seemed to cling to the fibers. His eyes moved to hers, taking note of the ink tint to her features.

"This is quite an odd feature... I have never seen it before... Though there are stories that the quarians have hair under their helmets." He looked down at her as she smiled to him as her eyes found his. After a second she gave a small nod. "I've never meet any other race besides turians..." Her voice was hushed slightly, which caused him to take note of how close they were. Giving a small cough he withdrew his hand and pulled back. Looking to her he gave a small tilt of his head as he tapped his cheek plate.

"What does it mean when you change color here?" Realizing that his question could seem rude he put his hand down and looked her face over. "I know nothing about humans. If I'm going to be living with one, I might as well learn." Her smile grew as she moved around the chair to stand beside the screens, the colors reflecting off her exposed skin, which there was quite a bit of in her black sleeveless, form fitting top and the black shorts she wore. His gaze moved back to her eyes. He was only curious about human features. That was all. He continued to tell himself.

"Well it can be a number of things and different humans show emotions differently. A red face could be anger, but two humans can show anger in different ways. One could have their entire face turn red and they seem to swell in the face from pressure of keeping hat anger in. While another could simple pair a glare with a red tint." Her shoulders gave a small shrug. "But most of the time a light pink is embarrassment or shyness. Its called blushing. Most humans tend to be very aware of how they appear and some are concerned about their features. The become embarrassed when attention is brought to them..."

Her eyes moved to the side as her lips twitched in a small smirk. She was explaining her blush as she called it. He watched her as she went about looking over the screens. Humans were such odd creatures, vein almost. Though he didn't know what she would be embarrassed about. It wasn't like he was judging her, was he?

"I was about to watch the vid... Would you want to stay and watch it with me?" He look to her, a little taken back. But he shouldn't have been. How many times had they sat up watching vids together? She must have been sitting in this room alone while he was just a few feet away, watching the same movie he was. He gave a small smirk and nodded, then realized she couldn't see him.

"Sure, why not. You have been subject to many turian films. I think I owe you a human vid or two." He chuckled as he moved to get out of the chair, but her finger on his chest stopped him, far to many fingers. He looked to her with a questionable gaze. She shook her head.

"I can sit on the floor. Its ok. You need to have a good view." She smiled and turned away to get the vid ready. As she was about to sit on the floor he reached out and took hold of her wrist and gave a small pull. She feel back towards him and with his other arm he caught he and placed her beside him. It took a second for them to get comfortable. When they settled Garrus sat with his legs propped on the food rest at the end of the chair and an arm around Luna's shoulder and rested on her knee. She sat with her back slightly against him with her knees pulled up, feet flat in the chair. It wasn't one hundred percent comfortable but it was manageable. She raised a brow at him in a silent question and he raised a shoulder.

"It's your room. Why should you sit on the floor?" That was all the explanation he was going to give. It wasn't all a lie but there was something else there. Maybe a need for physical contact. Maybe the need to simple get use to this human. He really wasn't sure. But he didn't let it occupy to much of his mind as he turned his attention to the vid.

There were moments when she would have to pause and explain things to him. Wither they be Earth customs or the odd item from the past that made no since to him. Over all it was a very interesting moments. The music was something he quite enjoyed as well as all the different aspects of the vid. The lack of action earned it a few negative points in his book but it was still enjoyable. As the human beside him stretched and rose from the seat he looked to her slightly confused.

"I don't see the point... He fought so hard for her to be his mate and in the end it didn't matter because she died... She should have told him she was ill. That way he would never have to go through losing her."

She turned to him with a small smile that held a small bit of sorrow. Her eyes were glossy and he realized it was from oncoming tears. "There is an old Earth saying, 'It is better to love and loss than to never love before.' This is a story about that." She raised a shoulder as she moved to lean against the chair. "I've never been in love so I can't have a full opinion of it. But they say that if you really love someone you would take all the pain of losing them just so you don't go through the pain of never knowing something as wonderful as love."

She pushed away from the chair and moved towards the screens once more, shifting through the data on the screen quickly, catching up on what she may have missed during the movie. "The woman in the vid thought she was a useless being, that no one would ever truly care for her. But he feel in love with her despite her flaws and gave her something she thought to never have before she died. Its a romance vid that makes you cry." She chuckled slightly before looking to him.

Garrus looked at this human before him. She seemed so smart and strong while at the same time looked so frail and young. He was sure that she was going to completely change the way he looked at humans. He just didn't know if that was a good thing or not.


	7. Chapter 7

Hello my little darlings. I'm so sorry I have been gone for so long. My husband was off work for a week and I couldn't get any writing or editing done. It also didn't help that this chapter was somewhat hard to get out for some reason. Almost like pulling teeth. But here it is.

I also wanted to say wow. Almost 2,000 views. It makes me so giddy. I am very happy that I have either a. that many people reading or b. a small group of people who keep clicking. Either way I'm happy. Keep it up. On a side note I have opened a LiveJournal account and would love for you to stalk me there. It is where most of my ideas are going to be so I need your input darlings. Such as if I should do another story that is a side story of Nihlus finding Luna. Or a whole other story all together. So go to my profile and then stalk me there and I will give you mental cookies. ^.^ Now you have all waited long enough.

_Disclaimer: Bio-ware is still in possession of all Mass Effect, but I am currently putting together a strike team... Will update later..._

_Click. Click. Cl-click... _Garrus's eyes moved to the screen in front of him pausing in tapping the metal frame of his chair. It had been five hours since he had started his shift. They were motionless in space just between the Citadel and Palaven waiting for word from the ship transporting the Primarch. Two weeks ago hey had received orders to escort the Primarch from Palaven to the Citadel for the truce negotiations between the turians and humans. They had reached their location six days ago and have been waiting. With nothing to do but take turns staring at the screen and waiting for the ship to show up on their radar.

It had been a very stressful six days. It was not in his nature as he had said over and over to do nothing. Watching movies only got so far before he grew tired of it. And because they never knew when the ship would arrive either him or Nihlus had to be in the cockpit, which meant there was not a chance for him to take out his stress in a sparing session with the other turian.

Garrus sighed before he returned to clicking his finger once more on the chair. A hand on his shoulder caused him to jump slightly and when he realized that he had a small growl escaped him. His eyes moved up to Nihlus who hand moved his hand away and raised both in a surrender motion as he moved to sit in the chair beside him.

"You are wound up pretty tight there. I told you that you need o get use to life in your ship. Sometimes missions call for you to hang around as you can see..." He gestured towards the screen as his own eyes moved to the, a small amount of hope that he would see the little blip. Garrus raised a hand to rub the back of his neck as he looked once more to his mentor.

"How do you handle it, Nihlus? How do you vent your stress when there is no one around to help you?"

Nihlus gave him a sideways glace and a smirk a he leaned back in the chair. "But there is someone here that could help you with that stress."

Garrus huffed slightly as he crossed his arms and moved to lean further back in the chair. "Yeah but we are working opposite shifts. There is no way we could spar. We might miss the Primarch's ship."

Nihlus chuckled as he shifted so he could lean towards Garrus. "I wasn't talking about myself. Luna is quite capable of helping you release some tension..." The older turian smirked as he moved away from Garrus to watch the screen once more.

Garrus's eyes grew wide as he thought about just what hi mentor was saying. There were only two sure ways to relieve stress for turians; sparing and sex. Surely sex wasn't what Nihlus was talking about, was he? The older turian must have seen the confusion on the younger face because he smiled and shook his head.

"Remember she was with the alliance so she does know how to spar. And all of her upgrades make her one hell of a punching bag. You would have to try really hard to hurt her.." Garrus let out a small sigh and laugh as he looks to Nihlus. So he had not been referring to sex. He smirked to the dark plated turian.

"For a second there I thought you meant I should sleep with her." He gave a small chuckle as he looked back to the screen. But when Nihlus poke next he almost feel out of his chair with how quickly he turned and tried to move back.

"I can say that that is a very pleasant option as well..." Garrus's eyes felt like they were about to pop with how wide they grew. Had he heard right? Was Nihlus saying what he thought he was saying? Moving forward a little so he was closer he raised his brow as he looked his mentor over.

"Nihlus, are you saying you had sex with Luna?" He watched as his mentor sighed and looked the screen in front of him. "It was a one time thing, back when I first found her."

Turning his head green clashed with blue as their eyes met and Garrus studied the other turians eyes to try and understand just what his mentor was think. Nihlus shook his head slightly before gesturing to the ship around them.

"This ship is Cerberus made as well, created to correspond with Luna. Even though we had successfully escaped the Cerberus base we were not out of the weeds. There was so much wrong with the ship still that it only took a few weeks of running before we broke down in the middle of no where." The darker turian rubbed is brow plating before looking back to Garrus.

"My stress level was far off the charts b the fourth day of constant repairs. And I was making mistakes, mistakes I should not have been. When Luna asked why I was missing simple problems I explained about stress and the way turians relieve it." He paused as he gave a small smirk, looking down he small hallway. "She told me that if it would pull my head out of my ass and get it back into the game she would do whatever needed to be done. And bless her it worked wonders. Somehow she grasped the fact that it wasn't emotional in any way. It was just a way for us both to get back into a working faction and she didn't let it effect her relationship with me at all."

Garrus sat with his mouth slightly agape as Nihlus spoke. This was the turian known for being a turians turian. He was a hero to his people and an amazing Spectre. And he just admitted he had literally slept with the enemy. Although that felt wrong. Even if Luna was a human she was not the enemy, not to him. But he ha just gotten to that level of comfort with her, enough to call her a friend. It had taken over a month to do so. There was no way he could think of her in a sexual since. Not right now at least. Looking back to Nihlus he spoke the first question that came to mind.

"Why didn't you just spar with her? You said she could take it..." Nihlus chuckled slightly as he looked away from Garrus and to the screen.

"We had just escaped the lab. She had not been able to move from the table and all the hook ups attached to her for months so she was not very strong. Nor was she use or even aware of what they had done to her. It seemed like the safer option."

Garrus nodded realizing that would have been the smarter choice. Turning to Nihlus once more he opened his mouth to ask another question but was halted b Nihlus raising a hand. "Before you start to ask personal questions I am going to stop you there. Its something I really don't feel comfortable talking about in detail. She is my partner now, my companion. I trust her and she trust me and I am not about to betray that trust by telling sex stories." Garrus shut his mouth and pulled back feeling a little guilty.

He was about to ask how it was, what it was like. But Nihlus had a point and he wasn't going to push it. And the desire to push it, to find out, was moved to the back of his mind to review at a later date. Sighing he sat back in his chair and lazily watched the screen. It was only a few seconds before Nihlus's hand on his shoulder brought him out of a daydream he realized he shouldn't have been in because of the timing as well as the content. Looking to the smiling face of his mentor he raised a brow plate.

"Why don't you head to the mess. Luna made a dish for us. Its not the best you will ever taste but it won't kill ya." He smirked as he withdrew his hand and looked to the screen once more. Garrus nodded and stood to move to the hallway. Right before he exited the cockpit Nihlus's voice reached him.

"Think about what I said. You could do with a bit of stress relief..." Garrus nodded before moving into the hallway. He wasn't sure which form of stress relief Nihlus was talking about and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

As he entered the mess he found Luna standing in front of one o the cooking units. On the table sat three plates each with a different Palaven meal on it. A bit of each plate had some missing here and there, proof hat Nihlus had eaten before coming to the cockpit. An odd smell reached his nose as he moved closer. Realizing it was coming from whatever Luna was making he moved over to look over her shoulder, bending down slightly.

"What in Spirits name is that?" He couldn't help the smirk that rose as she jumped slightly at his sudden appearance. Her silver eyes turned to meet his as she returned his smirk and bumped him back slightly with her shoulder.

"Its the closest thing to an earth dish I can make with only asari ingredients." What she had in the pan looked to be like long yellow and green weeds in a white sauce. It smell was not terrible but it was odd to say the least. He moved back to his position of leaning over her shoulder. "What do you call your mock human food?"

She laughed slightly as she stepped away from him taking the pan with her, sloshing the food onto a plate. "I call it 'Asari attempt at stir fry noodles.'" She laughed a small laugh as she turned and moved to sit at the table. Her fire hand not carrying her dish gestured towards the turian meals. "Dig in. Nihlus is already finished. He doesn't eat much when he starts to get stressed. I expect him to request a sparring match any day now." She chuckled as she stuck a utensil in the 'noodles', spun it a few times, then shove a large bite into her mouth.

Harry moved over to the table with a plate and began to take portions of the three different meals. As he sat he looked over to Luna, unsure of how to bring up the topic. He finally went for the direct approach.

"Nihlus said that I should ask you to help me blow off some steam..." Her eyes grew wide as she looked up from the bite she was about to take. A tint of red spread across her nose and cheeks as she placed the food back in her bowl. She cleared her throat as she let her eyes move to the side. "He did, did he?"

Garrus nodded not sure why she reacted the way she did. Then his wording came back to him as he mentally groaned at himself. Of course that would sound odd. So to save himself he gave a small chuckle and added to his comment. "Yeah I need a sparing partner. Nihlus is on watch and its hard to fight with yourself."

He chuckled again as her blush faded and she smiled. It seemed she understood what he meant now. She nodded again before she leaned forwards on her fist. "I would be more than happy to help you out. Although it might have to wait a bit. There are a few programs that I need to run. In the meantime you can set up the cargo area as a nice sparring area. That is after we finish eating." She smiled as she picked her food back up and continued with her meal.

Garrus couldn't help but smirk as he dug into the food. Nihlus had been right, it wasn't the best he tasted but it was far from the worst. For a human she did pretty good at alien meals. It must have come from years away from her own kind. As she finished her chair made a gritting sound as she pushed away from the table. She rose with her dish and made her way over towards the wash bin. After disposing of her bowl she turned and smiled to him. "I'll be back in about thirty minutes.." Smiling once more she moved towards her room, raising a hand to wiggle her to many fingers at him in what he understood to be a farewell.

After finishing his own plate, and the rest of the food all together, he stood and stretched his hands above his head. Looking to the time he noticed he still had about twenty minutes. Moving towards the cargo area he began to push crates to the side and stacking others on top of each other. Once he felt there was enough room he began to stretch out his body kinks. The last thing he needed was to get a cramp in the middle of sparring.

He heard her door open but did not halt in his stretches. "This should be enough room for us. I don't expect us to dance around the whole bay." His chuckled died halfway out of his mouth as she came into view. Her long hair was pulled up high but that was not new, her clothing was. While on the ship he had only seen her in two different states. The time when he had seen her in the towel had not been the only time, but every other time she wore the long sleeveless tight tank and shorts. Now she was dressed in skin tight pants that held a small flare at the bottom and some sort of chest harness, it looked like half a shirt. What made him falter was her completely exposed waist and half of her hips.

He pulled his eyes away and back to what he was doing as he realized he was staring. There was one thing for him to be told that humans and turians had different ideas of modesty on their bodies, humans rather worried about female chest and both worried about the crotch area where turians were more concerned about waist and hips. It was another thing all together to see a human expose their bodies from right under the chest to their mid hip bones, especially this human. Her voice brought his gaze back to her, which he regretted right away.

"I think this is perfect. But you know I do adore some dancing and dancing required music." She smirked as she held up a small little device as she pushed a button. Music began to play in their area. Smirking she set the clicker to the side where she had seemed to have placed a towel and water bottle he had somehow not noticed. "I felt a little music would help set the mood." She laughed once more as she moved towards the middle and began her own stretches.

Once more he had to look away and try to concentrate on his own stretches. He knew about her flexibility she had shown it off in little ways every now and then but it always took him by surprised by just how much she could bend and twist. It was a human thing, he was sure of it, but it was still one of those oddities that it was hard not to stare at. Yes that was it. It was odd to him. Nothing more than that. Or at least that was what he was telling himself.

As the song changed his head snapped up to her as she watched him with a smile. He pointed to the roof, signaling the song. "Is that what I think it is?" She chuckled as she raised an arm behind her head and pulled her elbow with the other hand. "I took the liberty of downloading your music list and mixing it in with my own. It wouldn't be fun if it was all just my terrible Earth music." She laughed now as she stood feet rather far apart and moved to grab her ankles, pulling her chest down further without bending her knees. He was glad she had been facing him. If she had been the other way he would have gotten an over exposure to her ass, and for some reason he couldn't decide if he liked that or not.

Standing straight he moved towards the middle where she stood rolling his shoulder as he looked her over. The music was helping with his mood and he could feel the stress in his body eager for a fight. He was getting as excited as a new recruit on his first day in the field. "You ready, Luna?"

She smiled as she rose rolling her own shoulder. Shifting she let one foot slide to the side as she took a defensive stance, a smirk pulling on her lips. "Now remember, Garrus, I'm not a frail little human. You are going to have to work a little harder to take me down." She smirked again as her fist rose to protect her face.

Garrus couldn't bite back the smile as he mimicked her stance. He wasn't a fan of thinking out hurting her, but if what she said was true then he would have to think that way. His plan was to start a little below normal and then work his way up with his strength. Taking a step he began to circle his way to the left. Her steps matched his as they began their dance, slow at first then he took a step forwards to close the distance between them. His fist shot forwards towards her face and if it made contact on a normal human, it would brake their nose.

But as he expected she had been watching him and the attack was clear to see. Her head moved to the side at the last second only just barely missing her cheek. As his arm reached its length and he was pulling it back she reached up and took hold of his forearm with both hands, turning so her back was to him. She seemed to spin as she rolled along his arm and then was back to back with him. Before he could step away and dodge she had aimed a well placed elbow in his rib cage. It caught his breath and caused him to stagger slightly.

But it did not stun him as much as she must have wanted him to be because he caught the kick that was aimed at his face. With her foot in his hand he twisted it slightly, causing her to become off balance and fall face first to the floor. That did not stop her in the least as she used his hold on her foot as leverage, kicking down with that foot to kick her other foot in the air, aimed to his face once more. The move caused him to step back and release her other foot so he would not be hit. Using the momentum of the kick she tucked her head and rolled away from him, raising to her feet turning to look at him.

A smile spread across her face as she moved into position again. "You are quite the dance partner. Have you had many engagements with humans?" He chuckled as he rose his shoulder slightly.

"Not really. When I was fighting in the war I didn't do much one on one fighting. My talents were used where the humans weren't able to get in close, but they thought us the general idea in training. What about you? Fight many turians?"

She laughed slightly as she nodded moving to restrain a lose strand of hair behind her ear. "You know when a ground team was sent to take over a base? Or to get some intel? That was me. I had quite a few run ins with turians, most needed in a fire fight but a few, more than I liked got to close. That was always the worst, when they got close enough I could see their eyes, the raise and fall of their chest. It made them so real, so true that we were two sides to stubborn to accept we were wrong. Good soldiers killing other good soldiers simply because someone higher up said, 'Don't like them. They are our enemy. Kill them.' You would think with Earths record of pointless fighting we would have learned long ago." She chuckled as she looked to the floor, that small red spreading across her checks.

"Sorry for the long over done speech. I've had that all pent up and sometimes it just need to explode." She chuckled as she moved back into the stance she had dropped and waited for him to move in. Garrus looked her over again and just marveled in the fact that she was so wise for such a simple human. It just a few minutes she summed up the feelings of so many that were in the war. He couldn't help but smile once more as he readied himself.

It was just a few second before he was on her again this time stepping it up sending punch after punch at her. She had shown she was not green and was able to take his attacks. She proved it even more now as she blocked most of the punches with her arms and the ones that did hit didn't seem to phase her in the least. To add to her credit she was sending out a few punches of her own, most making contact with his face as well. But it seemed that even with all off her added skin weaves and durability they did not seem to see a need to increase her strength. Each of her hits that connected didn't even cause him to flinch. They seemed to be stuck in a constant standing, him unable to put a dent in her and she was not strong enough to put a don't in him.

He was slowly working her backwards towards one of the storage crates. His blood was pumping through his veins at a high speed, his adrenaline was raising. He understood what Nihlus meant when he said she was a good punching bag. The small smirk on her lips showed she was enjoying it as well. But as her back hit the crate and he slammed a fist into the crate beside her head he noticed the rise and fall of her chest and the sweat that was causing her skin to shine in the lit cargo area. His head sank down slightly as he let out a chuckle.

"I have to say, Luna. With you its all about endurance." He chuckled again as he let his head move to rest on her shoulder. How long had they been slowly working their way back to the crate? It didn't seem that long but his body was telling him otherwise. He heard as well as felt her small chuckle as she raised a hand to place it high on his chest, almost his shoulder.

"What can I say, stamina is very important." She chuckled again and let her head roll to the side slightly, away from his head. As she did he was able to get a full sight of her neck as an interesting smell began to fide its way to his nose. It was like nothing he had ever smelt before but he knew that it was causing more primitive desires to rise. His body did not move as his hands slowly moved on their own, one coming down as the other moved up, both coming to rest on her waist. A small gasp left her as his thumbs began to trace lazy circles on her skin. A soft growl from him echoed her gasp as he nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck.

The smell from before seemed to hit him like a charging krogan. It took a few second to realize that the smell was coming from her, more specifically from below her waist. It was desire. Simple and plane. It seemed that humans could get turned on from a bit of sparring as well. His mandible fluttered slightly against her skin as his body began to react to the smell. How long had it been since he last slept with a woman? Three months... maybe four.. before he left on his training with Nihlus... Why. To. Damn. Long.

Deciding he could be in worst situations he moved closer to press his body flush with hers, forcing a moan out of her. That was the finally straw in his control. One of his hands came up to grip the back of her head as the other hand moved to the small of her back. His tongue slowly began to trail up her neck and back pulling more pleasant sounds from the human he held. A small growl of pleasure was drawn from him as her hands moved up to his fringe and her little multiple digits danced along his sweet spots. The memory of her being with a turian once before danced in the back of his mind, there long enough to assure him she had some experience and knew what to do. Hopefully.  
The hand that was resting on her lower back trailed down to her thigh, gripping in tightly before pulling it up to wrap around his waist, her other following suit. Whatever he was expecting what happened was not it. Somehow her legs grabbed him in ways that a turian woman could not. And Spirits be damned if it didn't drive him crazy. Pushing himself even closer now he kept the hand on her thigh as the other moved to explore her back once more.

Then timidly he moved his hand around to move between them, feeling the way her muscles twitched slightly under his touch of her side. His hand trailed up to trace the lower band of her harness, timidly of course, all the while giving her neck attention with a few nips and licks. The soft gasp from her gave him the last push to let his thumb slip under the band and caress the soft flesh that she always kept hidden. Her gasp turned into a moan as she arched her body against him.

Garrus could not help but smirk against her skin at her reaction, but his attention was on her and didn't notice her leg slowly sliding down one of his legs. That he didn't notice until one of his feet were no longer on the ground. As he feel to his back she moved her hands to his shoulders and pulled her legs away from the back of him. When he hit the ground it was with a thump and a small grunt. He looked up to her as she straddled his waist and her hands trailing over his chest.

She came close to him and began to plant small kisses along his mandibles. He had seen other races, mostly asari, kiss before but he had never felt it before. Now it was his turn to moan as she reached the end of his mandible, her tongue moving out to run along the edge. It was getting to the point of being unbearable. A small growl came from him as he reached up and took hold of her ass, pulling her closer. Once more his thumbs dipped below a band of her clothing as he was ready to strip her.

"Hey you two stop rolling around back there. We have the Primarch on the scanner. Garrus get up here. Luna go get strapped in."

Nihlus's voice cause Garrus to jump and pull his hands up quickly in a silent surrender. Luna sat up and looked towards the cockpit. Her face lit up with a blush as she quickly rose from her spot on top of Garrus. He watched her move to her water bottle and towel drying off before she took a large drink of the water. As he stood she tossed the water to him. He caught it but did not drink, instead he thought back to exactly what just happened. What he had done. What they had been doing. Exactly what he was about to try. Looking up to her he knew his face showed confusion.

"Look, Luna I-" She cut him off as she held up a hand with a smile. Moving to him she placed her hand on his chest.

"We have more important things to do right now Garrus. And we have plenty of time to talk later." She offered him a smile as she began to walk backwards to her room. As she reached the door she gave a small wave.

"But we will talk about it later cowboy. I promise." She smiled again before she disappeared into her room. He stood for a few minutes after the door shut. It would take a week or so until they reached the Citadel, and that whole time Luna would have to stay in her room. The last thing they needed was the Primarch's ship wondering why there are three heat signatures running around on the ship. Inside her room she was almost undetectable.

With one final glance to her door he turned and made his way towards the cockpit. He was sure that one stress was now replaced with another. And the trip to the Citadel could serve as nice thinking time. Hopefully he wouldn't over think the situation and ruin it. Hopefully...


	8. Chapter 8

I'm back my wonderful darlings. It took me a while to get back at it but I did not forget you. I have had a few busy weeks and for those who don't personally stalk me and simply stalk this story I do have another story in the works. So go take a peek at it and see if it is your fancy.

Fun note I have a beta now. YAY! Everyone say hello to barbex my wonderful new beta for Close Your Eyes. Also you should be warned that this chapter contains sexyness. So enjoy.

_Disclaimer: As you may have noticed I don't own Bio-ware. If I did this would be a whole other game now._

_

He felt like a new wet behind the fringe school boy stepping up to to be tested for the military. Garrus didn't think that he had ever been this nervous before. It had taken them three extra days to get to the Citadel, but now that they were here and free of the Primarch they were waiting at the dock for some supplies before heading out once more. They had yet to receive a mission so it was pretty much, 'Go run around and keep the galaxy safe. We'll call you later.'

So now Garrus stood in front of Luna's door, not really sure how to approach her. All this time away from her had given him plenty of time to think over the situation they found themselves in, or at least the situation they had been in before the mission. He knew that he was slightly interested, and the idea of having someone around to help blow off his steam in such a nice way would be quite handy. But he wasn't sure that he wanted her in the way of a relationship. He finally sighed and gathered what bit of confidence he had on the matter and raised his hand to knock on the door.

But before his fist made contact the door swished open and there she stood, arms crossed, leaning against her chair looking towards him with a large smirk on the side of her face.

"I was wondering how long you were going to stand out there before you made me force you in." She chuckled slightly as he raised his brow slightly. She tilted her head to two of the screens that usually held data but now gave her a perfect view of Nihlus in the cockpit on one, and a view of him standing in her doorway on the other. Garrus could have slapped himself. He knew there were cameras all over the place, Luna pretty much _was_ the ship. Why wouldn't she be aware that a very confused turian lurked outside her door.

Her smile grew as she turned and moved to sit in her chair. "Come on in cowboy. You look silly just standing there..." He nodded as he stepped the rest of the way into her room, letting the door shut behind him. As he went over what she said he moved closer to her. She used that word again. Cowboy. He had done some research on the word and all he could really find was reference to bandits hundreds of years ago on Earth. Hopefully because of the limited supply of Earth information due to the war he had missed something. Stepping next to her he offered a small smile.

"You called me that the other day. What dose it mean?" His eyes moved to her as she looked up to him. He stayed for a moment simply looking her over, watching for her reaction. Despite how he felt about the situation he had no idea about her feelings. She simply smiled before turning back to her terminal and began to type. As she did images popped up of humans dressed in strange clothing that looked very uncomfortable. He could tell from the style that the images were very old.

"A long time ago a lot of Earth was an unknown to most humans. On a land mass called America, which is where I'm from, there was an area called the 'Wild West.' To the settlers it was unexplored territory so only the brave or desperate explored the area to settle. Originally cowboy referred to a group of bandits that wore red bandanas and were just a whole bunch of no good. But as time went on the image became deluded until it simple referred to people who were from the west or seemed to belong there. Mostly people who liked guns. In all the stories the good cowboy could shoot the wings off a fly from the other side of town." She smiled again as she looked towards him again.

"And of course the spurs." She let her eyes travel down towards the back of his legs where his spurs stuck out. He raised a brow plate in effort to get an explanation. She smiled and looked back to the screen, bringing up a few more images of an odd four legged creature with a human seated upon it.

"Cowboys rode horses and used spurs on the back of their boots to 'spur' the horse faster." She raised her shoulders slightly as she leaned back into her chair. "You just remind me of the classic telling of cowboy stories. The kind of solitary hero that wanders into a town that is full of trouble and through the course of the story comes to it's rescue with a steady aim and a sense of justice..." She seemed to realize that she was blabbering slightly and looked to him with a bright blush. He was quite surprised in what she said. It seemed like something he would really want to do. Something that just felt right.

He realized that his silence was making her nervous as she raised a hand to tame a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes shifting away. "If you rather me not call you that I won't. I just thought that-"

He cut her off with a hand on her shoulder. "Its fine Luna I don't mind if you make me sound like the ultimate badass." He smirked as she smiled before laughing slightly. Her gaze then moved back towards the screen as an awkward sort of nervous silence filled the air. After a few minutes Garrus looked to Luna and simply went straight to the point.

"About the other day. I think we need to talk about it." Luna looked to him raising a brow slightly. She regarded him for a second before shifting in her seat so that she was facing him.

"Garrus I understand about turian nature, you know its a hobby of mine to study all the aspects of alien life. I know that you require a partner to release tension and I know that some times the line between the two different forms of relief tend to blur when the blood starts to really pump. I don't expect an explanation for your actions." She smiled as she raised a hand to rest on his forearm. Looking down he picked up her hand in his and studied it.

"But it's not just that... What we were doing seemed interesting, and part of me wants to explore it but at the same time I don't want to enter anything permanent. And now I sound like an ass..."

She chuckled slightly as she looked to him as he turned his face away. Lifting her free hand she turned his face. "You're an ass because you are locked in a ship for weeks and months on end where the only female available happens to be from an alien race that you were raised to hate?" She chuckled as she shook her head slightly. "Tell me honestly Garrus, what do you want?"

He looked to her for a moment before his eyes hit the ground. He knew what he wanted, he had had days to think about it. He just knew how it would sound. But she wanted honesty.

"I really don't want to ruin the friendship we have established and I would like to keep things the way they are but at the same time, I'm curious and also quite needy for some relief in that area. But I am worried that it might be something I'll want to do again, which is where my problem lies."

He let out a deep sigh as he looked towards the screen simply afraid to see her reaction. She pulled back and he was preparing for the backlash, but instead he received a full hearted laugh. He looked to her as she raised her shoulders.

"So you want a friend with benefits. What's so odd about that?" He looked at her surprised and a little taken aback by how easy she was taking the situation. A normal turian woman would have decked him simply for suggesting it, more proof of him being a bad turian.

"Is that normal for humans? To have casual sex with someone more than once without it meaning something?" She smiled as she shrugged one of her shoulders as her eyes shifted away.

"I mean I've never been in such a relationship before but I know of them." Her eyes slowly moved towards his with a knowing smirk. "You mean turians don't have casual sex?"

He shook his head slightly. "Not with the same partner. Stress relief is a one time thing. If you come back to the same partner again it is proof that you are drawn to them and means you are interested in them. Therefore you should enter a relationship with them."

She smiled as she shifted in her seat so that she was now sitting with her legs off the arms of the chair and her arms crossed on top of her knees, a smile on her face. "For some humans casual sex is easy. Others tend to fall for the one they are with. I guess it all depends on the situation really."

She shifted slightly so that she was now sitting on the arm of the chair fully, her legs hanging down and her hands at her side keeping her steady. She leaned forward slightly and he realized just how close she was.

"But I think that I can do it. I have to say I'm interested to see how it would go." She smiled a very sly smile as her head tilted to the side. "I'm here for whatever you need me to be.."

Something in the air changed with those words and Garrus realized exactly what she was offering him. Access to a pleasurable way to blow off some steam without any strings. It was like some twisted dream come true. He took a step forward, her knees on either side of his hips as his hand started stroking one knee and began to slowly move up her leg.

"Anything I need?"

"Yep"

"Anytime I want?"

"As long as its not in the middle of a fire fight or anything too pressing."

He chuckled slightly as his hand reached the curve of her backside. He almost felt like a child stealing candy from a candy dish with his mother in the other room. Something he shouldn't be taking but eagerly wanting to.

"And no promises or jealousy? Outside of the bedroom everything stays the same?"

She smiled as her hands moved up to trace the blue markings on his face before traveling down his fringe, much to his pleasure. "None what so ever. I'm using you, you are using me. It is a mutual agreement between friends so that we don't go insane and can keep our wits about us."

That was all the permission he needed to let his other hand join the first on her ass and give a quick pull, causing her to wrap her legs around his waist as she left the chair. As her body became flush with his he brought his face to the junction of her neck and let his tongue work its way up and down the sensitive flesh there. Her soft moans as well as how she clutched the back of his fringe told him he was doing well.

Turning it only took a few long paced steps to trap her between him and the wall. When she made contact with the surface it was rather roughly but instead of protesting he received another deep moan. It seemed that her mods had another use, he didn't have to be so gentle. With the added support of the wall he was free to let his hands roam. At first he simply began to trace her sides and hips. Then he let his fingers slip under the hem of her tank and with a quick pull had it up and over her head. But instead of revealing full flesh she was once again wearing the black harness. He took a moment to look it over.

"What is the use of this..." He gave a playful growl as his finger ran along the elastic band. She chuckled slight.

"Its a sports bra. It keeps everything from... you know... bouncing around..." A small blush moved across her cheeks as he moved his face back to give attention to her neck. A hand moved up from the band, slightly brushing against the flesh mounds hidden from sight.

"'Sports bra'? Are there different types? Why is it called that..." Although he was very much in the moment his curiosity was starting to get the better of him. He heard her give a small growl and he had to admit that at any other moment it would be cute but now it was pretty damn sexy. With a roll of her hips she pushed her body in spots that drove his basic urges crazy.

"How about we save the fashion questions for a less... eventful moment..." With that she let her fingers run along one side of his fringe as she turned her face just enough that she could let her tongue trail up the side of his mandible. He let a deep growl vibrate through his chest as he took a moment to soak in the feeling. Then he let his finger hook up the elastic band and lift it to allow him to see what was hidden underneath.

He had never seen a naked human woman in the flesh before, it was mostly diagrams and holos to show weakness when fighting. So now that he was able to see it first hand he was able to fully explore them. He brought his hands up to cup the soft flesh, molding and kneading the mounds. He was taking his cues from the soft moans she would let slip as she let her eyes drift shut and her head rest against the wall. He noticed the small pebble in the center became more firm the more his finger moved across it, as well as how deeper her moans became. Giving in to his sense of wonder he bent over slightly and let his tongue trail across the nub.

As he did she arched her back, almost pushing her chest into his face as one of her hands took hold of his forearm. He took a second before he did it once more only this time lingering as his tongue moved in small circles.

"Garrus..." She said his name in almost a gasping fashion as she gave his arm a small squeeze. It was then that the aroma hit him, the same one that had pushed him the other day in the cargo area. The one that said she wanted him as much as he wanted her at the moment.

As he continued giving her mounds the attention they deserved one of his hands moved down the the junction between her legs. He couldn't help the smirk that traveled across his lips as he felt the heat coming off her. It took him a moment to try and figure out just how to get the little shorts she wore out of the way without putting distance between them. Another smile rose to his lips as he simply let his talons to rip up the middle connection so they only remained on by the waist band.

"Garrus!" She sounded out of breath but startled at the sudden act. He ignored it as his hand began to explore the flesh that had been exposed to him. He noticed that he had ripped through two different layers of fabric. Did humans always wear so many layers? That would be filed away with the fashion questions for later. Now it was time to explore and explore he did.

As he ran his fingers along the soft flesh and the fold he found there he was rewarded with small gasps from his smaller partner. These were deeper and more desperate than the ones she had been giving a few minutes ago. He moved his head back to her neck, running his tongue up from her collar to her ear and let it linger before he whispered into her ear.

"I'm sure you have more clothing somewhere around here... Besides I'm having way to much fun to let you take a few minutes to strip down..." He smiled once more as he let one of his digits slip in between the warm folds and he could barely contain himself with what he found. It was so warm and soft but at the same time felt like she was trying to grip him. It was nothing like a turian woman and at the moment that was starting to look like a good thing. But maybe later it would be his downfall.

Pushing those thoughts away his attention was brought to the clasp of the armor he wore were little fingers were working to unclasp the pieces. Slowly one by one he was being stripped by the small gasping being pinned to the wall as his finger explored her insides.

Once his chest was bare her many fingers began to roam over his plates in life exploration. It felt good having her cool fingers running along his warm chest plates but he wanted to feel really her. So while she explored he worked one hand within her while the other began to work with the lower armor piece. His lower plates had long since shifted and he was far beyond ready to relive the stress that had built up the past how many ever weeks.

As his armor clanked to the floor and he was fully exposed he pulled his finger out of her and moved into position. He chanced one look to her eyes and found them clouded with lust and longing. It was all the permission he needed as he pushed forward with a quick thrust, entering her as deep as he could.

His moan was echoed by one pulled from her lips. The sound was like the sweetest of candy and he wanted more. It was almost as good as the feeling of her insides gripping him like a life line. It took him a few seconds before he began, needing to get used to her as well as let her get used to him. But once he felt that they were ready he began with long slow thrusts that slowly began to build up.

One of his hands was braced against the wall as the other held the small of her back, pushing her towards him. He could only marvel at how good it actually felt and a small part of his mind was having a war with himself if it was simply her or if it was just because it had been so long. Either way he was beyond glad that they had come to this arrangement.

Her movement caught his eyes and he watched as one hand held onto the forearm of the arm holding him up while the other snaked its way down to where they were connected. For a brief moment he was worried of what she was about to do, then he saw her finger began to twitch just above where he was currently thrusting.

He wasn't sure what she was doing but whatever it was she liked it and he made note of it. Her breath began to hitch as deep moans were pulled from her, her toes began to curl, her back arched even more allowing him deep access and spirits help him it was causing her insides to grip him even tighter.

He felt his end coming quickly but really what could he expect from going so long without having this fashion of release. And from the way that Luna was panting and grasping his arm like her life rode on it she was close too. It only took a few more thrust before she came undone underneath him. He only caught a glimpse of the bliss on her face as her head rolled back before the grip she suddenly had on him forced him over that last edge.

As he came it ripped through his whole being causing him to collapse against Luna and the wall. He stood for a few minutes regaining himself, letting the ship stop spinning before he chanced pulling out of her and letting her slide down to stand on the floor, her head resting against his chest as his head rested against his arm on the wall.

After a few minutes he heard a small chuckle from below him and felt her give his shoulder a small pat. He took a step back to allow her to move towards her locker. After a few seconds she removed what was left of her lower clothing and slipped back into under garments and another pair of shorts. A smile rode her lips the whole time.

She finally looked over to him with a tilt of her head. "Well I don't know about you but that was long overdue for me." She laughed slightly as she moved towards him. "I think its been a little less than two years." She stopped beside him with a smile and a hand on his arm. "Thank you, Garrus."

He chuckled as he stood fully and looked down to her. "Likewise, Luna." As she turned and moved towards her chair he began to strap his armor back on. And just like that they were back in friend mode. No awkward leaving the room and never mentioning it again, no need to show affection and cuddle like you would with a partner.

As he moved over to her chair, completely dressed now, and they began to talk about human fashion he realized that this was an arrangement he could really enjoy. Neither was getting hurt and both were enjoying themselves and getting something out of it. He took a moment to be thankful that he was put under Nihlus and was able to meet this human that seemed to understand him more than anyone else ever had.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello darlings. Here is a long over due chapter. I hope the length makes up for my lack of posting. I've been working on this chapter all week. I think with my load as full as it is lately I'm going to have to try and space out my stories. A chapter here one week, the next week I will post my other story then repeat. I'll try and go quicker but I think this will keep me from killing myself with overload.

Also my wonderful beta pointed out that I have been using 'brow plates' as a default emotion indicator on turians when they use subharmonics instead. So expect to see me change that now. It makes more since. I also keep forgetting to mention WOW. over 3,500 views and almost 30 stalkers. You guys make me all warm and tingly. Keep up the stalking. I love it.

_Disclaimer: Bioware has not given word if I have the highest bid on Mass Effect ownership. I've bet my soul so I can only hope._

There was something about the smell of gun oil that really felt like home. Maybe it was from the time he spent sitting with his father learning the basic gun set up. Or it could be from the fact that he was never without at least one gun, feeling the most relaxed when he felt the weight of it at his side.

His eyes drifted up from the piece that he was oiling towards the clicking at the table across from him. Luna sat with oil smudged across her nose and a mod in her hands. They were alone in his room so the echo of the click seemed louder than it was but Luna did not seem to notice, her eyes and attention completely on the component in front of her.

He had learned a while ago that she had a small obsession with weapons and mods, more so of alien made for her unfamiliarity with them. But when he picked up a mod a few days ago and began to install it she seemed to become attached at his hip, staring over his shoulder as he tinkered. He had to smile at her eagerness to learn and began to show her how all the pieces fit together.

It was then that her love for tech really began to show as she put all of her attention into the mods and weapons. It took quite a bit to distract her from the pieces, but he figured out a way once in a while.

That thought lead him towards a more pleasurable trail of thought. It had been a week since they set up their agreement and he had taken advantage of that agreement three times since then, which was more than he had in a long time. It helped that they felt bored with no mission and simply just floated along in space. But four times in a week was something of a record for him. Maybe because he only had had one other 'relationship' that gave him the ability to be with his partner more than once and that had been during boot camp. Not a whole lot of free time there to do as you please. Everything else were one time flings that deemed it very inappropriate to invite someone to your bed again so soon.

A soft sigh brought his attention back to the small frame in front if him. Luna sat down the mod that had belonged to his rifle. It was a hard mod to part with but it was necessary, his new mod was better in stats but lacked that wonderful corrosive damage he so enjoyed. He gave a soft trill of worry to Luna as she sat with her thinking face on, deep in thought.

"I'm a little afraid to ask what you are thinking..." Her gaze moved to him as if she just remembered that he was there. She pushed away from the table and stood, holding out her hand.

"Assault rifle..."

His subharmonics let out a small hum of confusion as he pointed towards the crate a few feet from them. As she turned to move towards it he shook his head. "It won't work. That mod is made only for sniper rifles. Sadly it won't work on any other gun." As he spoke she smiled and turned to look at him.

"Oh ye of little faith..." She chuckled slightly as she turned back and began to rummage through the crate. As she did he watched her, really watched her. Over the week he hadn't really become attracted to her so to say that he started to fantasize about human bodies but he was beginning to appreciate her human advantages. The way that she was able to consume him wholly. The way that she could so effortlessly wrap her legs around his waist and drive his senses crazy. There were a few things that made him think that the arrangement they had had other advantages than just the realise of stress. And then there was this instance, where they sat like old buddies talking about mods. No awkwardness between them or relationship strain. It was like two different lives, one in the bedroom, one outside.

As she moved back over towards the table with his gun she began to speak, looking over the weapon. "If your weapon merchants are anything like humans they make them weapon specific to make more money. It should be a very simple matter to change it so it can work on any weapon, but mostly another rifle. I should be able to do it in a few hours."

She offered another smile as she sat with the rifle and quickly began to take it apart. He had learned that while she was not great at a shot she was quite well versed in the make up of weapons. It was something he found quite appealing. He gave a small chuckle as he leaned back in his chair, his sniper rifle back in one piece.

"If you can pull that off I will deem you a weapon goddess and might just have to keep you forever."

He watched as a small blush crept across her cheeks as her eyes flicked to him for a second before looking back down to the weapon. "Make sure to get a room on your ship ready for me. And I'm leaving it up to you to explain it to Nihlus."

His eyes grew wide for second as he looked her over. They had never approached the subject of what would happen once he had his own ship. He always figured that she would stay with Nihlus once he became a full Spectre. It never occurred to him that she might want to travel with him.

His mouth opened to say something to her about the option to come with him when Nihlus's voice echoed in the room. "Hey Luna, you're gonna wanna get up here."

Her head shot up before she shared a look with Garrus. If there was trouble Nihlus would send her to her room. He couldn't think of a reason for her to be needed in the cockpit. And from the look on her face she couldn't think of one either. They rose together and made their way to where Nihlus sat in front of the screen.

As they neared Garrus saw the small little exclamation point that signaled an incoming transmission. Nihlus turned and smiled to Luna as she approached. Standing up he steered her towards the chair and helped her sit. She looked up to him with a questionable gaze as he leaned forward to press the button.

"Go ahead, SSV Rembrandt..."

Garrus watched as Luna's eyes lit up and quickly turned towards the screen. There was static at first and a muffled sound. Slowly the sound began to filter through before an image appeared.

"Hello, hello. Lu is that you? Come on let me her ya sing for me..."

Luna chuckled slightly as she leaned forward towards the screen. "Maybe later Joker. Its good to hear from you."

As the image cleared Garrus saw a, in his opinion, very frail looking man. There was a small amount of scruff around his face and a blue hat atop his head. He was beaming at Luna with one of the largest grins Garrus had ever seen.

"Damn it's good to see you. You should know that after staring at all the males that cover this ship you look like a goddess among mortals, Lu."

She laughed at the man as she waved her hand. "That's my Joker. The very best at giving back handed complements. Have you been keeping my brother out of trouble?"

"More like flying me straight into it." A voice was heard off to the side of the camera as the man Luna called Joker rolled his eyes. "I only fly where you tell me to. I can't help it you are a trouble magnet. Hell I think you could find a peace loving fluffy planet, hop on down there and somehow uncover some hidden death plot or crazy bomb that threatens to destroy the whole world."

"But then I would save the day and it would be all better. Now give me a the damn screen."

Joker held up his hands in defeat as he looked to Luna. "Got to listen to the boss man. He may break my everything leaning over to see the screen if I don't hand you over." He gave a small wave of his finger before he began to click away at the keys.

Luna raised her finger to wave as the screen changed. Garrus had to blink a few times to be sure of what he saw as the image changed. He could blame the fact that he was not completely familiar with human appearance on how much the man looked like a male Luna.

Although he did have muscle to his body it was still a somewhat small frame that went along with his slim features, much like Luna's. Their mouths, noses, chins, even their cheek bones seemed to be completely the same. He even had the same deep red hair that, to Garrus, looked a little like a mess tossed over his head. Not a strand seemed to lay down but it really wasn't that long. The only true difference he could see was the eye color. Where Luna's had that luminous moon glow to them her brothers were a light green that could rival the green of a nebula. Luna's smile grew wide as she let her fingers rest on the screen.

"Terra..." Garrus let out a small questioning trill as he looked from the man to Nihlus. He was pretty sure she had said his name was John. Nihlus looked to him and shook his head slightly with a smile. Garrus looked to the screen and thought about it for a moment. Her real name was Jane, so maybe where he called her Luna she called him this 'Terra', whatever that meant.

"Damn Lu it's so good to see you finally. Have you been good? Eating okay? Everything alright on your ship? Are you keeping entertained? I hope in a good way and not something... Well anyway where are you?"

Luna laughed as she held up her hands and shook her head. "Whoa there speedy... Why so many questions. You read my letters. You know exactly what I have been doing."

The man laughed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Luna. I'm just so excited and it's bubbling over." His eyes drifted down before they found her again. "I have something I want to talk to you about, and I would prefer it be in private."

Luna's brow rose, while both Garrus and Nihlus shared a trill of worry. Garrus wasn't too sure he liked the idea of something needing to be talked about in private. Was he going to try and talk her out of staying with them? Or maybe something bad had happened. They were orphans right? So it wasn't family. He looked over to Nihlus who seemed to be thinking. He gave a nod as he leaned forward to put his face beside Luna's.

John jumped slightly and sank back, a hand over his heart. "Damn it Nihlus, don't pop out of nowhere like that... I'm still not completely used to your face yet."

Nihlus chuckled as he tilted his head slightly. "That's a shame John. I quite fancy yours. But now that you feel that way..." John gave a small laugh as he waved his hand. Nihlus laughed slightly before looking between the siblings.

"If you keep your course we can meet you in just a couple hours." His eyes landed on Luna. "As long as that is alright with you." She smiled and nodded as John grinned as well. He leaned to the side slightly as he looked towards where Garrus assumed Joker was seated. "Keep the current heading, Joker. We are going to meet up with Luna's ship."

There was a small laugh from the side of him. "Yeah yeah I've get the course set, Commander. Heading straight into Council space and into the arms of a turian ship. Oh boy, yay!" The last comment was dripping with sarcasm and even went up in pitch. Luna chuckled as she leaned as if she could see him if she tried.

"Thank you Joker. Just think, you'll get to see me real soon." The man laughed again as he spoke to Luna from off camera. "Luna that's the only reason I do it, in effort to see you. Just do me a favour and wear something a little skimpy. Your brother hasn't granted me shore leave in so long I think I'm beginning to forget what sexy legs look like..."

Luna smiled as she looked to John, who seemed quite against the idea. "I can try, Joker. But I don't exactly keep club wear on hand." Her smile fell slightly as she gave John a small salute. "In a few hours Commander."

He returned the salute with a small smile. Then the connection was cut and the screen went back to showing the previous data. Garrus watched as Luna sat for a few minutes simply staring at the screen. Then she about fell out of the chair as she scrambled to her feet.

"I need a shower... And I need to get ready.." She began to move down the hallway, the turian men forgotten as she mumbled to herself. Garrus looked over towards Nihlus his subharmonics cooing slightly in a confused tone. Nihlus chuckled and shook his head.

"I've only seen her 'get ready' once before. We most likely won't see her again until we dock with her brothers ship. She said once that there is a human joke about how long it takes a woman to 'get ready.' I don't quite get it but she says that it is funny."

Garrus nodded as he understood the lack in humor of some of the things humans thought funny. Looking to where Luna had been speaking with her brother he nodded his head. "So Terra huh?"

Nihlus chuckled as he raised a hand to scratch where his browplate met his fringe. "Yeah that's what she calls him in return for him calling her Luna. She is the moon and he is the Earth.. I'm guessing they didn't think to hard about it as children." He sighed as he moved to lean over the console, inputting their destination. "I'm sure you have more questions."

Garrus huffed slightly as he moved to lean against the wall. "Well of course I do. First off, how does John seem to know you?"

Nihlus seemed a little taken back by Garrus's straight to the point question. After a second he chuckled and leaned against the chair, his arms crossed. "Well after a month of having Luna on board she asked about finding her brother. It was a difficult task finding a commander of, for all purposes, an enemy faction. Although I was not involved in the war that information was not handed out freely, especially to a turian. And even when I did find him it took a few weeks to convince him I really had his sister on board."

He shifted his feet slightly as his gaze moved towards Luna's room. "She was still healing so she didn't really want to see her brother. So once they believed me we would meet up and I would hand over datapads from her to him. It happened every three months or so..."

Garrus nodded to show he understood, well as understanding as he could be on a ship where surprises seemed to creep around at every turn. As he thought back his head shot up to look at Nihlus. "That time when you first left me on the ship alone with Luna. You had datapads from her that you were delivering. Was that...?"

Nihlus chuckled once more and nodded. "Yeah I was meeting John then. His ship had settled down a few miles from ours."

Garrus let a small snarl slip. He didn't like the idea of being deceived. Looking towards the hallway his head tilted slightly. "Is her brother aware of her condition? Why she is on your ship?"

Nihlus shook his head as he pushed away from the chair and moved to stand in the entry to the hallway. "No. He believes that Cerberus did find her but simple held her captive. From there I, a Spectre, found her and took her before the Council. They gave orders for us to work together and provide helpful hints to end the war. Of course not a soul was to know about it." He gave another chuckle as he looked over to Garrus. "It was hard to get him to believe that but he eventually did. Now with the war ending though he may want to take her back on his ship."

Garrus nodded as he looked towards the ground. "Do you think that is what he wants to talk about? You think he plans to keep her?" Nihlus nodded as his eyes lingered on Luna's door.

"That is why we are going on board with her. At least as far as the cockpit. I don't trust her brother one hundred percent. There may be a chance he plans to get her on board and run. I don't know about you but I don't want to take the chance."

Garrus gave a soft growl as his eyes moved towards her door. He shook his head slightly. "Not in the least..." He could feel Nihlus's eyes on him, studying him. He had a feeling the older turian was well aware of Luna and their deal. Thank the Spirits he didn't call him out on it or asked questions. Turning, he moved to the copilot seat looking over their statistics. After a few minutes Nihlus joined him in the pilot seat. The rest of the ride was close to silent.

As they neared the other ship Nihlus began docking procedures. He looked over to Garrus with a smirk as he tilted his head to the back. "How about you go and let the princess know. I'll finish up here."

Garrus nodded as he rose from the chair. Moving along the hall he began to wonder why it was taking the human girl so long. Sure they got there in under two hours but what was she doing? Nihlus's word came back to him. 'Getting ready.' Just what did that imply? He had only seen Luna in two states of dress, shorts and what she called a tank top and those tight pants with that sports bra harness. Did she own anything other than those garments? If so, what could be so difficult as putting them on after a shower?

Reaching her door he raised a hand to knock slightly. The door opened and he was hit with steam, an array of smells and music playing from one of her terminals. Moving into the room he noticed her standing in the bathroom leaning towards the mirror. Moving towards her he tried to sort out all of the fragrances that assaulted his nose. Some he was aware came with her shower cleaning items. The stuff she used on her hair and body to clean the dirt that seemed to try and melt into her skin. The rest were new but not at all unpleasant.

He paused at the door to look her over. So it seemed she _did_ own other clothing. Her top was a sleeveless black top that hugged her neck all the way down to her waist. A small section seemed to be cut out at the chest giving anyone who dared to look a pleasant view of the flesh he had begun to really enjoy. Her legs were covered in black pants that seemed to hug her legs like her top, only flaring slightly as they reached the ankle. On top of the pants was an item he had learned was called a skirt. It helped brake the illusion she might be wearing a single body suit. Black boots covered her feet most of it hidden under her pant legs.

Her hair held a slight curl to it but what really caught his attention were the small braids that traveled from the top of her head to the back, pulled together and tied with black string. It almost looked like she had hair like a fringe. It also helped pull the hair from the side of her face which he noticed was painted.

After his lesson in human clothing she had given him one on woman accessories, one of which was make up. At the time he couldn't see the appeal but now he couldn't help but marvel in the way the dark lines around her lids really drew out the silver in her eyes. It made them almost impossible to avoid. As he looked her over she noticed him and smiled.

He chuckled as he leaned on the door frame. "You look dressed to impress. Someone on that ship got your fancy?" She chuckled as she turned to look at him with a hand on her hip.

"And if there is? Are you jealous?" His face faltered slightly as she chuckled a little. Moving towards him she placed a hand on his shoulder as she moved past him. He watched as she passed not sure why he faltered. Why should it matter to him? She wasn't his or anything. Maybe it was because if there was someone besides her brother on that ship that she was attached to, they may try to use that connection to get her way from them. Yes, that had to be the reason. He mentally pushed away any other idea that might say otherwise.

He turned to watch as she began to rummage through her locker. While he had stated before that he was not attracted to her in the physical sense he could appreciate her and how she was dressed. A smirk played across his face as he looked her up and down. "So why don't you ever get all fancy like this around the ship?"

She laughed slightly as she pulled out two silver like hoops that seemed to have crystal like gems on them. She cocked a hip as she looked to him, her hands up attaching the hoops to her ears. "I dress up for two occasions. Special events, such as seeing my brother for the first time in about three years, and dates. I don't think I have had a proper date in around four maybe five years. So enjoy this..." She took a small step back to indicate herself giving a slight spin. "While it lasts. Because once we get back its back to lounge wear and not a spot of make up."

He laughed slightly as he moved to stand beside her. "I don't understand you humans. You put so much effort to being uncomfortable to impress each other."

She offered a cheeky smile as she turned to look at him, a hand on her hips and her eyelids lowered. It was a look she gave him when she was mocking a flirt look. Once again he couldn't see the appeal but he had seen it on a few vids that they had watched together. "Aww are your unimpressed with my hard work? Watch out Garrus, you might hurt my feelings."

She was joking, he knew she was from the gleam in her eyes. But that didn't mean he couldn't play along as well. Moving that one step closer brought him right up against her. His hand rose to trace down the side of her arm. "I won't say that you state of dress has impressed me. But I will say that I'm always impressed by your lack of dress."

A smirk worked over his lips as he watched her face flush. Her hand rose to run along the side of his fringe, causing him to give off a slight purr. "Now you shouldn't start what you don't want to stop."

He gave a soft growl as his other hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her flush to him. His head dipped down to nip at the part of her neck that was exposed. "I thought you said any time I want..."

She laughed as her hands rose to push him away slightly. "Yes well, I think now is the only exception. Because if I don't board my brothers ship he will come looking for me. And I'm sure in any situation he would find us in he would most likely wish to blow your face off."

He chuckled as he stepped back from her watching as she moved towards the door. "He's still not a fan of turians I take it?" She laughed as the door opened and she tilted her head towards the cockpit, ushering him towards it. "No, my brother is not a fan of me being touched by a male of any kind. Little lone a turian."

Nodding his understanding he moved to follow her out towards the airlock. He watched her as she walked, thinking over something she had said. When she was talking about her state of dress she referred to 'when they got back.' That meant that she had plans of returning to the ship with them. So she had either not thought about the fact that her brother would ask her to stay or she simply had decided already that she would come back. Either way he was hoping for the better.

As they neared the door Nihlus was already standing and waiting for them to join him. He looked her over as his mandibles gave a small click of approval as he smiled to her. "You look the part my dear. Ready to see your brother dearest?"

She gave a small nod as the doors hissed open to a small little walk ramp that connected the two ships, completely covered in air tight bubble. Stepping through Garrus stayed right on her tail as they entered the airlock. A hiss behind him told him that the doors were closing and the air was adjusting to the ships air pressure. As the door opened a voice sounded over the speaker. _"Sargent First Class Jane Shepard is now aboard."_

Garrus gave a small trill as he looked to the slim form in front of him. He was aware that she had been in the Alliance and while he didn't know the Alliance terms for ranking he wasn't a fool. He understood that she had a rank but to announce it meant it was either high up there or a simple heads up to those on the ship.

As the doors opened the man called John was standing on the other side at a salute. Luna stepped up and offered him the same salute before he broke it and rushed to her to wrap his arms around her waist. As he hugged her he lifted her into the air and began to turn. Luna began to laugh as she hugged her brothers head. As he sat her down her hand remained on his shoulders as he looked her over.

"Damn it's good to fully see you again..." His hand rose to pat her head slightly as he raised a brow. "I think you might have grown a bit too. You're just about my size."

Luna laughed as she batted his hand away, cocking her hip to place a hand on it. "I just might have. It's being around all these turians. Got to grow just so they don't step on me." They both laughed as Garrus looked over to Nihlus who chuckled as well. It seemed to be a joke that he was in on. As he looked back to Luna she took a step back to stand with him, and for some reason that gave him a small amount of comfort. "Terra you know Nihlus already.."

As she spoke John stepped forward to grasp Nihlus's hand with a smile. "I have to thank you once again for watching over my sister, Nihlus. I know she can be a real handful sometimes."

"Ah I see we share the same pain.." Nihlus chuckled as Luna lightly elbowed him in the side. She took a step closer to Garrus and held up a hand to indicate him. "This is Garrus, he is Nihlus's student. He is learning to become a Spectre."

As Garrus put out his hand to shake John's, he watched as John looked him over then looked to Luna who gave a small nod. The human stepped forward and shook his hand. As he did his eyes narrowed slightly. "I have not heard much about you, but what I have heard has all been praises. So I can only assume that you are taking care of Luna as well."

Garrus bit back the impulse to say something snarky along the lines of just how well he was taking care of Luna but he saved it and simply nodded. "Yes, I try very hard to look after her. But I must say she is more of a help to me than I believe I am to her." He smiled and looked down to Luna who simply smiled to him then looked towards John. She was about to open her mouth to say something when a voice echoed around the cockpit.

"'And this is Joker the best damn pilot in the whole galaxy.' No guys I really can't take all the credit. The ship is amazing. 'No Joker you're our hero and so amazingly attractive.' Well if you insist I'll take that credit. You're too kind..." As he spoke the chair spun around slightly to show the man from the vid chat from earlier. Luna laughed as she moved over to the chair, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Would it be okay to hug you Joker? I don't want to brake anything." He scuffed and waved his hand before opening his arms. "What the hell is a few broken ribs and a sprained neck compared to you pressed against me." He watched as Luna laughed and bent at the waist to hug Joker around the shoulders. Garrus wasn't sure what was wrong with the man but he could see just how frail he appeared in the flesh. Had he been turian born and that weak looking there would have been no hope for him in the military. Goes to show just how different the Alliance was from the turian Hierarchy.

The sound of boots hitting metal brought everyone's attention to a man who was running towards them. He stopped short of Luna, and simply stood staring at her as if she was a ghost. Garrus looked him over with judging eyes as he did Luna. A somewhat built man with slightly tanned skin and dark hair. He seemed like a normal human to him. Nothing special to behold.

He took a step forward as Luna shifted under his gaze. Slowly she gave him a smile and a tilt of her head. "Hello Kaidan. It's been a while..." He took that as an invitation apparently because after she spoke he reached out and pulled her to him. As he wrapped his arms around her he buried his face in her neck and hair. He stood with her like that for a few minutes before he pulled back to look at her, placing both hands on either side of her face, his own face a few inches from hers. Garrus shifted slightly, uncomfortable with how close he was but mostly with how awkward Luna seemed to be.

"I thought you were dead... I saw the roof come down on you. I was coming back I swear." He shook his head as he looked down for a second. "Why didn't you contact me, Lu? You've been alive this whole time and I only found out a week ago."

She offered him a smile as she raised her hand to cover his. Pulling away from his grasp she took a step back. "Kaidan I couldn't tell anyone. The only one who knew was John and he was sworn not to mention it to anyone." Her eyes shifted over towards John who reassured her back shaking his head. He hadn't told anyone. Kaidan shook his head as he looked to her, not letting go of her hands.

"If you told him you could have told me. I thought that we..." He trailed off looking around slightly glaring at the others around him. Garrus shifted at the uncomfortable situation he seemed to be in. Looking over he noticed that John's brow rose which meant that he was unaware of whatever had occurred between the two. Kaidan shook his head and continued on. "I loved you Luna... What we had was something special..."

Luna laughed quietly as she pulled her hands away from his and took a step towards the turian pair. She shook her head as she looked the man over. "Kaidan, it was one night... It was a special night but it was almost four years ago. And I really don't think you can count it as love when you left me there."

Kaidan looked like he had been slapped across the face. Then his shock turned to anger as he glared at Luna. Garrus chanced a glance to John who simply stood with his arms crossed watching with narrowed eyes. It seemed he was interested in seeing how this would play out, for now.

Kaidan waved his arm as if to dismiss her comment. "I had to leave. The bombs were dropping and I had a team that was under my command. We had to pull back. You were the one who was just too damn stubborn to listen and follow us out."

Luna gave a soft growl as she pointed to the human man. Garrus had to smirk to himself as the man shrunk back slightly. "My mission was the intel. You knew how important it was, we both knew. Yet you ran and I stayed. I even uploaded the intel to the ship before that roof came down on me."

Now it was Kaidan's turn to step forward glaring at her. "That was your mission Luna. Mine was to keep my charges safe. So I left you to your ways and got my men out. Had I stayed we would have all been buried. And then maybe half of us would have made it out alive if we were lucky. Then maybe we would have been picked by the Council to be some turian's pet bitch."

It seemed the time working together honed Garrus's and Nihlus's skills to harmonize as they both moved at once. Nihlus took hold of Luna from around the waist and turned her so she now stood protected behind him. Garrus had moved forward to clasp a hand around the humans neck and lift him off the ground, a small growl echoing around the tight area.

John had stepped forward placing a hand on Garrus's arm but had his eyes on Kaidan. "I think that is enough of that, Kaidan. I want you to retire to your quarters to think about who you insult on my ship." His eyes now moved towards Garrus's with a small smile. "If you please my friend. The sooner he is on the ground the quicker he will be out of sight."

Garrus looked the human man over before giving a small nod. Slowly he lowered Kaidan until his feet touched the ground. His piercing gaze bore through the man for a moment before he let go of him with a slight push. The man stumbled as he gained his footing. Dark eyes scanned the people who stared him down before he turned and stalked down the ramp towards the back of the ship. They all stood in silence for a minute, no one saying anything until a voice broke it in what Garrus would assume was a joke.

"So that was fun..."

They all turned to look at Joker who seemed to shift slightly then sighed. "I know, I know. Shut up and fly the damn ship..." He raised his hands in defense as he turned his chair to face the control panel leaving Luna, John, Nihlus and Garrus somewhat alone. Garrus stood very still glaring towards where the human man had run off. He was fighting back another growl when a small hand was placed on his shoulder.

Turning he looked down to Luna who had moved around Nihlus to stand beside him. She offered him a timid smile which he returned as his hand moved to clasp over hers. "Sorry about that... Seemed I let my temper take over..."

She chuckled slightly as she shook her head. "It's fine. I'm sure if you two hadn't have acted I would have decked him in the face." She laughed again as she titled her head. "Seems like you have quite a bit of stress built up. Maybe we should spar later."

Garrus gave her a smirk as they both ignored Nihlus's small chuckle. John cleared his throat to gain their attention. Luna smiled to her brother who held out a hand down the ramp. "Shall we talk in private now?" Luna nodded as she gave Gurrus's arm a small squeeze before moving to walk in front of her brother.

As they disappeared Garrus moved back to stand next to Nihlus who seemed quite entertained by something. His subharmonics cooed a question that Garrus simply waved off. Both their attention was brought to the sound of the pilot who seemed a bit nervous as he shifted in his chair.

"Ya know I'm all for the war being over. And I don't really mind turians as a whole. But there is something very uncomfortable about being alone in a small area with two of you guys..."

Nihlus laughed slightly as he moved over to lean on the wall where he could see the pilot. "Don't mind us. Just think of us as spiky humans that are here to watch over you to make sure you don't run off with little Luna..."

Joker gave a nervous laugh as he looked over to him. "Yeah that totally made it less creepy. Thanks for the nightmares I'm sure I'll have tonight..." His eyes shifted from Nihlus to Garrus before he gave a small sigh.

"Don't mind Kaidan. I hear that biotics can be a bit overly emotional. And if that's true then Kaidan is right at the top of overly emotional spaz. When John brought Luna on board, Kaidan had a little mini freak out of his own. Followed her around like some love sick puppy. She would give him attention on some occasions and I hear, and from what they said it confirms, that they spent a night together not long before she went missing. I don't know, the guy seems like one who could make an elephant out of a mouse.."

Garrus let out a small trill of confusion as he moved to lean on the other side of the chair opposite of Nihlus and looked to the human. "I'm not really sure I understood half of what you said. But I gathered to not take the stupid biotic human too serious because he overblows everything. That about right?"

Joker gave a small chuckle and nodded his head. "Yeah that's about the size of it." His eyes looked over Garrus then Nihlus before he nodded again. "I see why she likes being around you two. You guys have that sassy quick whit she likes so much. Kinda like John."

They spent the rest of the time talking to Joker about different fights he had flown in and other fun stories about Luna and John. As footsteps met their ears they both turned to watch as Luna and John returned, Luna a few feet ahead of John and not looking completely pleased. As she neared she offered them a small smile. "Come on guys, let's get out of here."

They both shared a nod as they pushed off the wall to join her at the airlock. As they did John reached out and took her hand, pulling her back towards him. Taking her hands he leaned in to kiss her forehead. "Promise you will think about it..."

She gave him a small nod but seeing his look of disbelief she sighed. "I will. I promise. Good-bye Terra..." As they stepped into the airlock he gave her a smile and nod. "Cya later, Luna."

They traveled the way back to the ship in a silence that hung heavy in the air even after they detached from the other ship and began their way off in another direction. A sigh from Luna caught their attention as she rubbed her brow.

"If you don't mind this has been an emotional day and I want to just relax for a moment." Nihlus nodded, completely understanding but Garrus stepped forward catching her hand. She looked up to his eyes which were pleading with her. She smiled as she pat his hand and pulled away.

"Terra has been offered a spot in the Citadel. From what he says it's pretty fancy and a good protective location. He wants me to come live with him there. No Alliance, no Cerberus. Just him and me in a new home." Her eyes looked them over before she shook her head slightly. "As you heard I told him I would think about it. I haven't made up my mind yet."

She turned away and made her way towards her room. Garrus looked back towards Nihlus and knew they were thinking the same thing. It may be a good idea and a safe choice for Luna, but were they ready to let her go?


	10. Chapter 10

Alright guys here is the next one. It is short but sweet. I promise it... kinda. But yes there is one thing for me to talk about before you get to it. In my other story I posted replays to all my review and then realized that I had some forgot to post one here. SO without much to do here it is:

Thank you so much for reviewing and reading Mr.(Or Miss)Guest, Dowlsga92, Micheal 13, Guest #2, 2, Guest #3, velestro1, MeredithvL, geminidragon76, Filigree09 and GC42

Janelle: Thank you for answering my questions. I wish I could post everyday but life tends to say now and kicks me into the studio more time or not. I will update as quick as I can.

Kanaydian Dragon: Wow thank you for the review. Yeah I tried to make Shepard a surprise and everything. Glad I did a good job throwing you off. Yeah Nihlus is more brother number two than love interest. I have thought of doing a prequel once it's all done of when he finds Luna but I'm still not sure yet.

Tgee: Really best story ever? You just made my little artist ego inflate and I think I even blushed. You flatter me so. I'm glad that I can write something you enjoy so much. I will try not to let you down.

Shantie1984: Wow I think you were the first to guess Moulin Rouge. You get a prize. A d^.^b from me. I'm glad that you are enjoying the story.

Jane Hood: You're reviews always make me smile. I enjoy them quite a bit.

Frustration: Thank you for the reviews. You were on to me from the start haha. I wonder if I will surprise you later.

*~* That is the end of all my thanking. Now enjoy the story... I demand it!... I mean if you want to. ^w^

_Disclaimer: I'm in secret negotiations now to find a way into Bioware to plead for the rights to Mass Effect. Once I get it you will all know..._

_He was standing in the middle of nothingness on a trail to nowhere. It felt so much like a walk he had done in every moment everyday of his life. Then something changed. Water began to pour in from nowhere he could see. At first it was slow, just covering his toes. The chill of the water began to numb the bottom of his feet. Then it slowly began to rise up towards his spurs, the biting cold of the water becoming more and more painful as more of him was consumed by the chill of the water. All too soon it was upon his chest and threatening to consume him completely._

_Then the floor was pulled out from under him. No, that would be incorrect. It was more like the floor tilted downwards causing him to slide down the surface. He fought as hard as he could to find anything to grab hold of all the while he fought for air that was not coming. He was falling and drowning at the same time. It was hell and he could feel it. If he didn't find a way out soon it would be his end._

_Then - five little fingers wrapped around his wrist and he ceased falling. His eyes moved upwards and into the smiling face of a simple human girl. She seemed so familiar that a single word sprung to mind as the young girl pulled him up effortlessly. 'Home.'_

_She seemed to be standing on a ledge or some sort of stable, unseen rise that she pulled him up to stand on. As he studied the girl he took in her short hair that stopped at her chin framing her face perfectly. He was not an expert on human age but he could see that this girl looked to be about 14 or 16. It wasn't until he took in her eyes, those piercing eyes that he realized just who she was._

_Once he was stable on the 'ground' his hand reached up to cup her cheek lightly. He tried to speak but realized too late that he still had no air. His hand moved to her shoulder as the other moved up to try and cover his mouth and hold in what air he had as he sunk down to one knee._

_Instead of freaking out or showing worry the human girl simply smiled and leaned forward placing a finger under his chin and lifting his face towards her. His eyes held questions and pain as he pleaded for help. And help came to him from the small girl leaning forward and covering his lip plates with her own soft lips. All of the sudden he took a deep breath and felt the air rush in giving his aching lungs a relief. His eyes drifted shut for a moment enjoying the feeling of air given to him in this odd human action._

_As his eyes opened the small girl was gone and in her place was the older version that he knew all too well pulling away from him. She simply smiled to him as she helped him to stand back on his feet properly. He took note that he could breathe as if he was on dry land even though the water continued to sway around them, evident in the way her hair seemed to float around her effortlessly._

"_How..." She stopped him with a smile and a shake of her head. And in that moment she stepped close to him and moved her hand up to let her thumb trace along his mandible then along his fringe. His eyes shut and he let a small purr echo inside of him as he enjoyed the feeling. In that small moment they became more than simple friends but instead of reaching their 'friends with benefits' stage they hit a different level. One that felt more emotional, more dependent. She moved closer to raise her lips to his ear as she whispered softly._

"_I don't want to be alone again... But in the end you will leave... Just like the rest..." Her words brought a chill to his heart and he pulled her closer to whisper in her ear. "Never... I will never let you be alone again... I will be here for you..."_

_He couldn't help but let his mandibles twitch into a smile as his hands moved towards her waist. The fact that she was so close was spurring on more emotions from him and he couldn't stop himself from letting his face fall to the crook of her neck._

_He heard her give a small chuckle as she moved her hands back down towards his chest. He could feel her take a sharp intake of breath as her body shook for a short moment. "In the end you won't have a choice..." Her voice was different now. It held pain and seemed like it was hard for her to say those simple words. His head tilted up and through her hair he noticed a large metal pole attached to the center of her back. Pulling away quickly horror filled his being as he took in her state._

_A large three pronged, arrow topped clasp was protruding from the center of her chest. Her face, normally tan colored, had drained to a deathly white which clashed with the bright red liquid that leaked from the corner of her smiling lips. His fingers reached out to lightly trace over the metal talons that held fast to her chest as she reached up to cup his face once more._

"_It is a fact Garrus... But do not be sad... It's just the way it has to be..." As she spoke a mass of something dark traveled up his feet to root him in spot. He was unable to move from his spot and could only watch as a chain that seemed to be attached to the metal spear began to lose slack, until the chain pulled her away from him. He reached up to take her hands as they left his face. He held onto them until the last bit of her fingertips slipped out of his reach. His arm remained outstretched. He reached for her as she reached for him, a sad smile on her face as she got pulled away from him._

"_NOOOOOO-_OOOOOOO..." Garrus woke up with a start, his breath ragged as he fought to regain air. A quick glance told him he was inside his room, the quiet hum from next door a small comfort as he let his legs hang of the edge of the bed. A hand moved up to rub his face as he leaned his elbows on his knees. It had been almost two weeks since they had docked with John's ship and it felt that almost every other night he had this sort of nightmare, only getting worse and worse each time.

He blamed it on the fact that Luna had not hinted at all to whether she was going to stay or join her brother. Garrus knew that Nihlus was still in the same sort of unsure state that he was in, he was just far better at hiding it. But one thing was for sure, he needed these nightmares to stop.

He was used to basic nightmares. He had seen war and fighting. That was no problem. He had seen some pretty twisted things on the Citadel during his time as a C-Sec officer. But all dreams related to those instanced left him angry and ready to fight. It made his blood boil and after them he needed to vent some of his pent up steam. They were easy to get rid of in the end. But this nightmare, it was different. It left him feeling hopeless and scared. Two emotions that were so alien to him that he didn't even know how to deal with them. Turian's were raised to not hold fear. You were trained to look down the barrel of a gun and laugh. And hopelessness? Ha, there was always a solution, always a way out. And if it meant to sacrifice your life then you would die a proud turian.

But to feel these emotions about someone else? No one had ever taught him how to deal with that. The only solutions he could think of was forcing her to stay, which would take away her freedom or to completely distance himself from her so that it would be less painful if she did leave. But both felt cruel and painful and he could do neither. He let out a large sigh as he rested his chin on closed fists. He felt like a ship with no pilot.

A small beep from the door caught his attention as his eyes moved to his omni-tool's heads up display to see the time. It was well into the sleep cycle, too early for someone to be up and to late for someone to still be up. There were only two other people on the ship and he was pretty sure he knew who roamed the ship at night. Another sigh escaped him before he reached over to hit the key that opened the door.

Luna stood in the doorway, dressed in her sports bra and a pair of shorts. The way her hair was slightly tousled lead him to believe that she had been sleeping. Timidly she stepped into the room and moved towards him as the door shut behind her. As she stood looking him over with a worried look on her face he couldn't help but drink in the sight of her and the small relief that came from seeing her in the flesh.

Since the encounter with her brother she spent most of her time in her room thinking. It didn't help that they also got three different missions from the Council so Nihlus and himself were off ship quite a bit. They had only had one day alone since then as well. He could blame the dreams on his lack of release. But he had gone so long before without release but not once did he have any dreams like this. At the same time he had never had this kind of relationship before. He looked up to her again, to ask why she entered but she beat him to it.

"You screamed... I was worried.." Her hand reached out to rest on his shoulder before it slowly moved up to cup his cheek. "Are you okay, Garrus?" He let out a sigh, this one more relaxed than filled with despair. Leaning into her hand he took comfort in her touch. Once more he would blame the dream. Those dreams that felt so lifelike that the emotion move into you when you wake were the worst. Now he was feeling an emotion that he didn't think he really felt. He simply wanted her near, not in an intimate fashion and not in a friendship fashion.

His hands moved from his chin to pull at her waist. Pulling her close she stood between his legs as he hugged her around the middle, the flat of his fringe resting on her exposed midsection. Her hands moved from his face to rest on the back of his neck. Her fingers lightly rubbing circles to relieve his tension in the exposed flesh there. He sat for a moment taking in the feeling before he spoke to her.

"It was a nightmare... One that I was not prepared for.." He could feel the small chuckle shake her body as he looked up to her a little hurt. She shook her head as she gave him a soft smile. "I'm sorry I'm not laughing at you. It's just that is a funny thing to say. To prepare for a nightmare. Like you know what you are about to dream." She moved to kneel between his legs so that she was level with his face. "Even when I have repeated nightmares I am never ready for them."

His hand moved up to mimic the action she had done earlier. He could see the slight confusion on her face as she looked to him. And he couldn't blame her. This was so out of character for them. They were either being buddy buddy, laughing as best friends or he was shoving her against the wall and doing everything he could to strip her down so he could get to her flesh and take her. But Spirits bless her she didn't voice the odd behavior. He let his thumb trace her cheek bone.

"What are your nightmares about?" She seemed a little taken aback by what he asked. It seems she wasn't expecting the question at all. But after a second she looked to him and gave a small smile, one that seemed so like the one in his dream.

"I have nightmares about a lot. Losing Terra. That roof coming down on me, what it felt like. But most are about the Cerberus base." She gave a light laugh as her eyes moved away from him. "Thankfully I sleep less than a normal human. Almost every time I fall asleep I fear I'll wake up back on that examining table..."

He could almost feel the fear radiating off of her. How was it that in his dream he seemed to know, seemed to understand that she was so afraid? She hid it so well. Was that why she left so much running in her room, to make sure her unconscious mind knew that she was not in some empty lab somewhere? The desire to keep her safe began to rise again as he pulled her towards him. As she became flush to his chest he wrapped his arms around her and turned to lay on their sides in his bed. He felt her tense slightly in his arms and looked down to make sure she was alright. He was greeted with a small blush that spread across her face.

"Sorry, Luna.. I just thought that if you had someone next to you, you won't feel like you were alone. But if you are uncomfortable.." He began to release her but was met with a shake of her head as she moved closer to him.

"It's not that.. It's just I try to make it a habit of not laying flat. I was that way for the entire time I was at the Cerberus base. Laid flat out on a table in a small room." She gave a small smile as she ducked her head to hide her face. Thinking back he realized that she had never seen her laying flat before. She slept in that large chair, leaning back slightly. And when they had been together exploring their benefits they had always been against the wall or in her chair. They had never really laid down anywhere.

One of his hands moved up to cup the back of her head as the other wrapped around her waist to draw her close to him. His eyes shut as his mandibles clicked into a smile. "Well with me here you will know you aren't in that damn lab. Maybe with each other here we will be able to get a nice night of sleep. What do you think?"

She was silent for a moment, which made him worry that she might not really be up for the idea. His eye peeked open to see her looking up to him with eyes that seemed to be screaming a word he did not know. His head tilted slightly and his subharmonics keened a tone of worry and seemed to say 'is that alright?'. But he was rewarded with her slightly leaning up so that her lips could meet his plated ones. While he had seen the humans and asari in romance vids kiss and he himself had felt her small kisses on his body, he had never been kissed like this before. It caused a knot to form in the lower section of his body. A knot that burned with a white fire he had never felt before.

As quickly as she had started she pulled away from him with a small smile. "That is one of the sweetest things I have ever heard. Thank you Garrus..." Another smile was given before she moved back to snuggle against his chest. He couldn't help but smile as he let his own eyes drift close.

"You know me. I aim to please. Just imagine me to be a giant spiky... Oh what did the vid call it... Fred... Freddie... Freddie Bear?" She chuckled as she moved slightly. He suddenly felt his chin resting on the side of her head. It took a second for him to realize that she had moved to rest her head on the carapace that circled his shoulders. In doing so her head was like a second pillow for his head. The way she seemed to relax told him she was comfortable so he allowed himself to relax which had him discover he was very comfortable as well.

She gave a content sigh as her hand moved to rest on his chest. "All right. You will be my **teddy**bear and I will be your pillow. It's a win win.." He chuckled as he felt her breath to begin even out. She was already starting to drift off to sleep. His hand brushed through her hair a few times as he gave a small sigh himself. "It sure is, Luna... it sure is..."

If she was still awake enough to hear him she showed no sign of it. Garrus let his mind drift as he began to enter sleep. In the small part of his mind that seemed to take over in the limbo between the dream and reality he began to think over the severity of where he found himself. He was slightly aware that something was happening to him in regards to his feelings of Luna. She was becoming more than just his best friend. More than just the girl he fooled around with. She was becoming someone far more important and maybe far more dangerous.

Right before he finally hit the land of sleep his hold on her subconsciously tightened and he let out a small possessive growl. His mind was telling him that she was his and he wasn't going to give her up so easily. Those were the last thoughts that entered his mind before a dreamless sleep took him over. It was a shame that he would not remember it in the morning.


	11. Chapter 11

Alright darlings we are well on the way to the end. Well of this act. There will be a second one after a while. This is the beginning of the end. Enjoy. And don't forget to check out my other stories and review!

_Disclaimer: I am now facebook friends with BioWare... My plot to take them over is slowly underway._

When Garrus awoke it was to a familiar and comforting warmth pressed against him. He took a moment before he opened his eyes to greet the new cycle. As he did he let his eyes adjust to being open to the darkness before he tilted his head down towards the body nestled against his form.

As of late they had found quite a lot of comfort in sleeping together like this, since their first time almost a month ago. Since that first discovery of the feeling of complete relaxation from sleeping as a pair they had made it a habit of seeking each other out when it was time for the other to sleep.

Looking down to her face his mandibles twitched into a smirk that almost got caught in her hair. This morning he found her sleeping with her back pressed against his front, fitting perfectly in a way he would not have expected with her odd curvy plumpness. His hand rose up to move a few strands of hair out of her face as he thought of a good way to wake her.

He had learned a few weeks ago that it was a bad idea to leave her sleeping alone in the bed. She wasn't kidding when she said laying down alone gave her nightmares. It had started with just a few twist and turns that slowly turned into thrashing and when he reached out to wake her she screamed as she sat up with a start, moving away from him as quickly as she could. It took a few minutes to calm her down and bring her back to reality.

He certainly did not want to have a repeat of that episode, ever. So when he would wake before her he would always make sure to wake her as well. Leaning his head down he was about to whisper to her when a scent hit his nose. It halted him completely as he inhaled a deep breath, enjoying its sweet tang.

Waking up next to her he also had learned an interesting fact about humans, they tended to have very interesting dreams that caused their bodies to react in the waking world. And from what he was smelling she was having quite a pleasant dream. It dawned on him that there was a very nice way to wake her that may just be enjoyable for him as well.

His hand slowly moved down from her face to trace a small line down her arm then dipped slightly down her waist until his talons reached the elastic band that pressed against her waist. Slowly he began to move back and forth before dipping down under the band. He could feel her warm, soft flesh against his fingers as he worked his way down to his target.

His eyes moved back towards her face for a moment to see if she was still asleep. At first he had been a little unsure if this was really such a good idea. But now he could see how her lips had parted in her sleep as well as her face was starting to flush slightly. She was still asleep but her body was reacting to what he was doing.

That was all the invitation he needed as his fingers traveled the short distance to her warm core. Slowly he began to make small circles with the dull side of his talon against the little bundle of nerves nestled beneath her folds. As he began to pick up his pace he could feel her body reacting to his stimulation. And in turn he was slowly reacting to her responses. He could feel his plates begin to shift as she began to give off soft, desperate moans and her hips began to shift right against his growing desire.

He tried to fight a losing battle against groaning into her neck as he began to increase the speed of his talon. He felt her shift once more but this time a large gasp came from her as her body grew stiff for a second before she went completely relaxed against him. She was awake now and from the way her hand moved up to run up his leg he was right in assuming she was enjoying what he was doing.

Now that she was awake it was time to kick it up a gear. Using his free arm he pushed himself up so that he could roll her under him. A large smirk rose to his mandibles as he took in her state of bliss. Now on her back one hand had risen to grip his shoulder as the other griped his upper arm of the hand that was making her climb to a state of bliss. Her lips were parted as she fought to gain air quickly, her chest rising and falling just as quickly. The last thing he took in were her eyes. Those stormy gray orbs that were clouded over with lust, desire. Dipping his head down he began to nip slightly at her neck, giving a few licks here and there.

At each small nip her hips would buck forward into his hand. Each move spurring him on more and more. Her aroma was assaulting him even more now and causing his body to react. Luckily turians did not sleep in clothing like humans did. His plates began to shift to show just how much he was desiring her at the moment. Quickly he stopped his rubbing and moved down to remove her sleep shorts and underwear. So slowly that she began to squirm slightly, her hands grasping at him.

"Garrus..." Her voice was heavy and loaded with her longing. That was his downfall. His name spoken so softly, so full of desire. Quickly now he moved back up to her, hooking her knees over his arms as he moved towards her opening. In one quick movement he entered her. He sat still for a moment admiring the feeling of her grabbing him so firmly. It wasn't until she started to roll her hips did he return to pleasing her, only this time he was gaining just as much pleasure.

She was climbing that steep hill even faster now, her breaths coming at a frantic pace. Letting go of her legs he bent down to gather her up and lift her against his body so that she sat in his lap. She was close, he was sure of that, from the way her head rolled back and she clung to him as if he was the only thing keeping her from floating into space.

Kicking up his pace he thrust into her a few more times before she broke. A silent scream formed on her lips as her body arched against him, her head dropping further back and allowing him to have a full view of her collar and chest. As her body went lax he leaned in to give her collar a few small nips, all the while continuing his movements. It was as she was finally coming down from her high that he hit his. He clutched her close as he spilt into her fully. Sitting with her panting chest against his face as her arms moved to hug his head, stroking his fringe, he felt completely at peace. As he finally completely relaxed her voice drifted through the room.

"Well that is one hell of a wake up call..." He joined her in laughing as she moved away from him. A smile was sent in his direction as she moved towards his bathroom. She left the door open and he heard the sound of water being turned on. He chuckled as he moved to let his legs hang off the side of the bed and he let his chin rest on his hand supported by his elbow on his knee, looking towards the bathroom.

Humans always seemed to shower at least once a day. It might have something to do with how they were sweating and their sponge like skin seemed to absorb the dirt and grime it came in contact with. The idea of joining her to help her wash herself was very tempting. Maybe run his fingers through her hair as the water flowed between them. He was about to stand up and join her when a sudden realization caused him to stop in his place.

Their relationship was changing. Best friends, that he was aware of, did not shower together. And if what he understood of this 'friends-with-benefits' status was correct he would only want to be in her shower to fuck her once more. Wanting to help her clean herself, keeping her safe at night, being with her for comfort, those were all things you would do with someone you were bonded with.

His subharmonics began to trill a sound of despair and insecurity as he leaned forward to cover his face with his hands. When did the relationship change for him? When did Luna stop being his friend he slept with and became something far more important? And the other question was if she felt the same way? And if so what would happen then?

He chuckled to himself as he shook his head. The galaxy wasn't ready for a cross species relationship between two races that had been at war just a short time ago. He mentally kicked himself as he rose from his bed and moved towards the bathroom. Now he was jumping to conclusions. Thinking about relationships that would most likely never happen.

Pausing at the door he couldn't help but watch her form behind the fogged glass as she washed herself. He couldn't help but admire how her hands moved up and down her arms under the stream of water before moving up to run her hands through her hair. He had to admit, she was beautiful. And not just for a human and of course not by turian standards. She was beautiful as Luna, plain and simple.

He had fallen for her at some point. And not because of what she was and not really because of who she was but because of what she was to him. But now the course of action to take was unclear. Should he tell her? Let her know just what she was to him? Or should he keep silent just in hopes that he could always keep her with him.  
His thoughts were interrupted by Nihlus's voice over the com. "Garrus, get ready and meet me in the cockpit. Luna, I need you to stay in your room. We have a guest..." Garrus moved his gaze back towards the shower after looking up towards the voice. The shower had been turned off and Luna stood with a towel wrapped around her form.

He offered her a small smile as he tried to keep his eyes from watching how her wet strands of hair seemed to cling to her neck and shoulders and how the water rolled down her skin. "What do you think that is about?"

She offered him a smile as she moved towards him so she stood a few inches from him. "Usually Nihlus meets people off ship. Which means that it is either someone he doesn't think will discover me or..." Her eyes moved away from him as she moved past him to search for her clothing. Slipping them on she began to mumble to herself. Looking to him she gave a soft growl.

"If I were you I would quickly hop in the shower. If it's who I think it is he will loath the idea of you having my smell all over you..." Garrus was confused by her reaction. There was someone else who was aware of her? If she was known then why would she have to stay in her room? He was sure he wasn't going to like this in the least. He only offered her a nod as she shot him one of her smiles before moving out of his room.

It took him almost ten minutes to rinse off in the shower and get dressed. Moving through the hallway he was met with Nihlus as he was standing to full attention staring at the airlock. He seemed to be staring a hole through the door with his glare that almost screamed detest. So whoever this was neither Nihlus nor Luna liked them and he would bet he didn't like them either.

Reaching out Nihlus tapped the lock button and the door slid open. Whatever he was expecting, a legend wasn't it. In walked a tall turian whose plates were completely white. His face and eyes were altered with cybernetic implants which caused him to look even more threatening than the holos Garrus had seen on the Citadel. Saren was the hero spectre among turians, but in light of the situation Garrus couldn't help but hate him right away.

The turian stopped in front of them, cold calculating eyes looked them over in a judging manner before his gaze moved towards the camera in the corner of the room. A sneer of disgust came across his face and chimed in his subharmonics as he moved past them towards the cockpit console.

"I see you still have your filthy pet. As much as I think you should have left her on that base she may, unfortunately, be useful to us now..."

Nihlus gave a small chuckle as he turned his hard eyes on Saren as he began to click away at the console. "As wonderful it is to see you again you haven't quite explained what you are doing here, Saren." Tension was palpable between the former mentor and his student.

Garrus watched as the pale turian turned to his former student and crossed his arms after pushing one last button. As he did, a large schematic popped up that looked to be a base of sorts. He sneered slightly as he looked Nihlus over once more and then Garrus. Deeming them unimportant he looked back to the screen.

"I'm sure your little parasite in the back knows what this is... I have uncovered one of the top three Cerberus bases. It is on a moon right outside of the Sol system. The council has ordered me to infiltrate, retrieve and destroy. And as much fun as it would be to go in and eradicate the galaxy of these worthless creatures I regret to say that I need your little humans help. She has the ability to get into their systems in a way that I wouldn't be able to, being one of their failed experiments."

His eyes moved to Nihlus who had grown a little agitated at the way Saren spoke about Luna but his eyes were fixed on the map on the screen. He took a step forward as he spoke to Saren. "So you want to take Luna back to a Cerberus facility that you intend to destroy so she can make it easier for you."

The sneer that was followed by a subharmonics growl of irritation showed how much Saren hated how Nihlus had put it. As if he was relying on Luna so things would be easy. Turning away he moved to lean on the chair. "I want to use her for the purpose they built her for, infiltration into a system. I would be able to get in without her and get some information but I feel that she would be able to plug in like a good little electronic and find me some juicy data I wouldn't know where to find otherwise."

Nihlus gave a nod before looking back towards Garrus. His subharmonics chimed with questions as he tilted his head towards the screen. Garrus stepped up and looked the layout over. It was a complex looking system with lots of places they could get in trouble. His eyes moved back to Nihlus as he gave a nod.

"I think she could do it easily. But I'm going with her." His eyes moved back to Saren with a slight glare. He didn't care if he was challenging a superior, he didn't trust this man any more than he trusted Cerberus. His mandibles twitched in agitation before he turned back to Nihlus. "We don't want her to be _accidentally _left behind in the destruction. And if Saren is off busy killing all the humans then he may not be able to keep tabs on her." '_Or want to.' _he added in his mind.

Nihlus nodded as his mandibles twitched into a smile as he looked from Garrus, to the camera in the corner, then to Saren. "So it's settled. We will all go along with you to take over this Cerberus base and get the information before blowing it up." His eyes moved back towards the camera, his gaze a little softer then it was a few moments prior. "Luna, are you alright with this?"

It was a few seconds before her voice drifted into the cockpit. "As long as we make sure to completely wipe this base. I'm in the process of tracking their location. I will monitor all communications coming and going to see if I can create a program to simulate a normal situation. That way we don't get any surprises in the form of backup Cerberus troops." Nihlus chuckled slightly in his hand as Saren's expression turned into even more of glare towards the camera. There was a pause before she spoke again, this time a little more hesitant. "Will Saren be joining us on our ship or will he be returning to his ship? Either way we can not begin with his ship attached..."

Saren gave a soft growl as he pushed off the chair and moved towards the airlock. "I will be back in a moment. I have to secure my ship and get it somewhere safe." With that he was out of the room and back on his ship. Garrus watched as he left still not liking the spectre in the least. He felt Nihlus move to his back and turned to look at his own mentor. A look of agony crossed his face as his subharmonics trilled in worry.

"Just because Saren is playing nice doesn't mean he will always play nice. He doesn't do well trapped in close environments with others. Make sure you keep a close watch on Luna. Just because she is useful on this mission doesn't mean he won't strike out at her." With that he moved to sit in the pilot seat to look over the schematics once more.

Garrus watched for a few minutes before he turned and moved towards the mess. It was well past morning meal and he might as well eat. It seemed the next few days were going to be stressful and he was going to have to watch his toes. Even more so he would have to watch Luna's as well. There was no way he was going to let Saren do anything to harm Luna. Not if he had anything to say about it! A protective growl escaped him as he practically attacked his breakfast.


	12. Chapter 12

Here we go darlings.. Sorry for the somewhat late update. If you read my other story you know that it has been a crazy week for me. First off WOW... Almost 7,000 views? That is amazing ^w^ I'm not sure if that is new views or if my awesome stalkers are rereading it over and over. Whatever it is keep it up.

These chapters are getting harder and harder to write since it is getting close to the end. Reviews help spur my writing so let me know what you think. Do you guys like where it's going? Any input? Remember to feed the writer! Haha. Hope you enjoy.

_Disclaimer: How easy would my life be if I owned BioWare? Amazingly so.. But alas I do not..._

Standing in front of his mirror Garrus let a sigh escape his lips as he looked over his reflection. Anyone could look at him and see that he was stretched thin. But that's what happens when you stop sleeping.

It had only been a little less than a week since Saren had joined them and helped them set course to what Garrus felt was going to be the most important mission he had been on to date. Saren being on board had caused Luna to spend most of her time, if not all, locked away in her room. It wasn't only to keep her away from the human hating turian. She was also working out a plan of action that would be the most effective and the safest.  
Needless to say she had very little time on her hands for him. And without her close to him he was sleeping less and less each night. He missed the way she fit so perfectly against him. Missed the feeling of her soft flesh against his plates. But he missed knowing she was safe the most.

With Saren on board there was no knowing what the spectre had planned or what he would do. While Garrus didn't see him jeopardizing the mission just to kill Luna, he also wouldn't put it past the violent turian. He might not kill her but there was a high chance he may hurt her in passing.

On one of the occasions where she had left the room Garrus had been in the cockpit with Nihlus when they heard a crash. By the time they got there Saren was sneering from the other side of the room while Luna was picking up the kitchen utensils that she had knocked over. She insisted that she had accidentally knocked them over but Garrus didn't trust the way Saren was glaring at her.

A small growl boiled up from his gut as he raised his hands to splash water from the sink on his face. Since the arrival of the other spectre had taken them all by surprise Garrus had not had a chance to talk to Luna about how he felt. He wasn't even sure that he should. But there was no way to figure it out with mister pale plates running around. Every time Luna did seem to escape her room, Saren was always there asking questions about her progress and, as it seemed to Garrus, looming over her until she returned to the safety of her room.

Pushing away from the sink he took the towel beside him and began to pat his face plates dry. Once he felt he looked a slight bit more alive he turned and moved towards the door. They had all agreed that they would go over the mission layout now, 12 hours out, then get a final round of sleep. Nihlus wanted to make sure that everyone was at their best. But Garrus felt he wouldn't sleep well, just like he had not been.

As he entered the mess the sound of giggling caught his attention. Looking in the back cargo area he spotted both Nihlus and Luna sitting on a fold out cot. It had been decided as soon as Saren arrived on the ship that he would be taking Nihlus's room. And since neither he nor Garrus liked the idea of Luna begin out in the cargo area Nihlus had taken it upon himself to sleep on the cot. Garrus had offered to sleep there but from the look Nihlus gave him he believed that his mentor knew exactly what was going on between him and Luna.

As he watched them Luna's eyes moved over towards him. He offered her a smile which she returned before looking back to Nihlus. A small red tint hit her cheeks as a glance was once more sent to him before she responded to Nihlus. Whatever she said seemed to be amusing because they both began to chuckle. He was about to move towards them when a voice spoke behind him.

"It almost makes me sick..."

He bit back a deep growl as he shifted his weight so that he could look at the older turian. Saren's harsh cold eyes were glaring across the room towards the pair on the cot. His look was that of someone fighting the urge to be sick. Slowly his eyes moved towards Garrus, giving him a knowing look. Despite himself, Garrus shifted back slightly and gave a small huff.

"And what is it that makes you sick exactly?" He knew of Saren's hatred for humans. Everyone seemed to know that, but for some reason it was worse with Luna. It was like he went out of his way to degrade her. Saren shifted his own weight as his eyes moved back towards the pair, towards Luna.

"They way that humans can so easily work their way into any one's lives. They are so deceiving and tricky. They never show how they really feel and are only out for their own gain. I have seen so many situations where good people think they could trust a human just to have those creatures turn on them. It's all a matter of time until your little pet turns on you... Make sure you are ready for it.."

Garrus didn't try to bite back the growl that now rubbled in his chest. Taking a step forward he narrowed his eyes at the taller turian. "I don't know what humans you have met, but Luna is different. She would never turn on us. She would never turn on me..."

Saren chuckled slightly as he moved forward so that they were just a foot apart. "Are you so sure of that rookie? Did you ever question the fact that Nihlus just so happened to stumble upon one of the only humans that would accept any race? Out of all the humans in the war Cerberus just so happened to grab one that 'hates the war' and 'only wants peace' even though she was just working with her own kind to bring down our race?"

He scuffed again and moved back looking towards the human once more, his arms crossed. "I don't trust humans. That is common knowledge. But I can't stand even less a human that uses those that I consider acquaintances. It's beyond clear that she used Nihlus, manipulated him so that he wouldn't take her to the citadel or back to her home. What normal person wouldn't want to go home after being away from her only family for years...?"

Turning away Garrus looked towards Luna as she sat smiling with the dark plated turian. Her smile lit up her whole face as she leaned in and began to whisper to him. There was no way that she was deceiving them, was there? No. Luna would never turn on them. She wanted to be here because she felt safe and had made a close friend who had saved her. She was just as important to them as they were to her.

Looking back to Saren his subharmonics chimed a sound of anger and a hint of challenge. "You don't know what you are talking about. You know nothing about her. Luna would never plan against us. She isn't here with some alternative motive. There is no way that she would do that to us..."

Saren's mandibles clicked against his jaw in amusement as he looked Garrus over. "She has worked her way deep into your trust hasn't she? What did she do? Connect on a personal level maybe?" His eyes moved over Garrus slowly then moved back towards his face. That look of disgust came back over his face. "Don't tell me that you slept with her..."  
A threatening growl built up in his chest but he said nothing as he simply glared at the older turian. He didn't want to lie and deny it, but at the same time he didn't want to confirm the spectre's assumption. But his reaction seemed to be all the answer Saren needed as he turned away. Before he stepped he paused and glanced back to Garrus.

"If you're in that deep there is nothing I can say to save your ass. Just watch your back and don't be surprised when you find a pistol there with a certain human at the other end." Garrus watched as he moved over towards the table and started to lay out the plans and data pads that awaited him there.

He was so entranced in what the turian had said that he couldn't help but jump slightly as a small hand slid across his arm. Looking down his blue gaze met moon lit eyes that were lined with concern. She offered him a timid smile which he returned as he placed a three finger hand atop her five fingered one.

"Are you alright?" Her eyes drifted towards Saren who was now joined by Nihlus as they began to set everything up. "I wanted to come over sooner but Nihlus said I should leave it. Last thing that we need is me stepping up in a fight with Saren.." She chuckled slightly as she let her gaze move back to Garrus.

He smiled once more as he took hold of her hand and held it for a moment. He fought so hard against the urge to bring her fingers to his face. To feel those little digits run along his mandibles. He gave a small nod as he let her hand go.

"Yeah - just got hit with a lot of hot wind, that's all..." She giggled slightly as she moved with him to sit at the table, across from Nihlus and Saren. As they sat down Saren seemed to watch them with interest before looking down to the data spread across the table.

"Alright, pet. What have you discovered..." A hand on his arm once more caused Garrus to stop the small growl he hadn't noticed he was rumbling as he glared at Saren. Luna stood, ignoring the gab at her, and leaned on the table.

"This base is one of their big hitters. It is going to have a great amount of guards and staff." She pulled over a plan that showed a 3D model of the base from the side. She pointed to the different floors. "Each floor has at least 20 guards. Most of the levels are labs. But here..." She pointed towards a level that was two from the top. "..and here..." Now her finger selected a level that was near the bottom. "These are like research areas. This is were they keep all the files and results that pertain to anything they have done in this facility."

She sighed as she stood straight and crossed her arms. "The kicker is that you can't just hack one main terminal on one floor and go to the next. Once one is hacked the other is locked down and almost impossible to access. Little alone the alarm that will sound."  
Nihlus leaned forward to place his chin on clasped hands. His eyes seemed to study the building layout. "So we need two separate teams with at least five floors between us..."

Luna nodded as she moved to remove part of the model so that the building was cut in half down the middle. Her fingers danced

across a large beam that seemed to be in the middle of the building. "This is their elevator system. Someone somewhere must have been thinking of us when they built this building. It travels from the very top all the way to the bottom. The best way to enter would be to drop down to the middle together then spilt up from there and one team goes up and the other goes down."

Saren let his mandibles click slightly as he thought. Standing up he began to tap small areas of the map. Looking it over he gave a small smirk as he looked to the other two males while ignoring Luna. "You two should team together. I'll take your little AI and head to the top floor. We can go floor to floor and set up explosives as we go. Once we get clear we can blow the whole thing."

Nihlus shook his head as he rose and stared down Saren. "And just why should I send Luna with you?" The pale turian scuffed as he faced his former student. Cybernetic blue met emerald green as they glared each other down. "Each team needs a spectre as the leader. You're little trainee is not ready to lead..."

Nihlus shifted as his eyes moved over towards Luna looking her over. A small smile crossed his face. "The systems have to be hacked at the same time. Besides Luna you are the next best hacker. It would be foolish to send our two best hackers one way and the less than good ones another way. Neither Garrus or I could hack that system as quickly as you could." Nihlus's eyes moved towards Garrus who gave him a small nod before looking to Luna who offered him a small smile of thanks. Saren growled slightly as he realised that he had been backed into a corner.

Garrus narrowed his eyes towards Saren as he studied him. Of course they wouldn't leave him alone with her. Not in a building they were planning on blowing up. He might accidentally leave her behind in the blast. Or she might be captured by the enemy... Or so he would say. There were so many ways for him to get rid of her. Saren turned and moved towards Nihlus's room.

"Fine.. Send the human with the newbie. There is no way I'm letting a green child watch my back while I hack..." With that the door shut behind him. Nihlus sighed as he shook his head. Looking back towards the pair he offered them a small smile. "Go ahead you two and get some rest. I'm going to check our systems and route to make sure everything is on course before I hit the sack."

Luna nodded as she moved towards her room, pausing next to Garrus to give him a reassuring smile before disappearing behind her door. Garrus watched as she left him alone with Nihlus. As much as he hated to admit it he was still thinking over what Saren had said. His thoughts were interrupted by Nihlus as he leaned across the table to bump him slightly.

"Let me guess... Saren said something stupid.." Garrus looked over to his mentor who had a knowing look. The elder turian sighed and shook his head. "Saren likes to get under everyones plates. Its just how he always has been. Whatever he said is just a way to make you doubt what you know." His eyes moved to where Luna was behind her door. "Saren hates her and that's no secret. You know more than he does when it comes to her. Don't let him cloud your judgment."

Garrus nodded as he looked towards Luna's door then back to Nihlus. He was about to say something but before he could Nihlus moved away from the table. "Go try and get some rest..." With that he was moving to the front of the ship. With nothing else to do Garrus rose and moved to his own room to lay down and try to rest.

An hour later found Garrus laying on his bunk staring up to the ceiling. There was no way that he could sleep right now. With all the thoughts and anticipation running around in his head there was no way to calm it enough so that he could sleep. It was then that he heard his door slide open. Sitting up in the darkness he could see her form as she entered. Even without seeing her he would have known simply by her scent, she had just showered.

She moved over to his bed and stood staring down at him for a moment, as if she was trying to decide on something. Most of the time he was the one that came to her. She was always so passive about their times together. He looked her over taking her in fully as she loomed above him. Her scent was overwhelming him this close to her.

Her hand reached out and cupped his face like he had longed for her to do just a few hours ago. Leaning into her touch he raised his hand to cover hers. He waited a few minutes before he wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her down onto the cot on top of his chest. Her head rested against his chest as his had moved from hers to run through her hair over and over.

A small sigh escaped her as she tilted her head up to look up at him. "I'm afraid, Garrus... I am really afraid..." He offered her a small smile as he let his hand rest on the back of her head. He could feel her body under his touch, how tense it really was against his. He brought his lip plates to the top of her head in a makeshift kiss.  
"Don't worry, Luna. I'll be there to watch you back... I will do everything I can to make sure you won't get hurt.." As he pulled back he watched some of the worry leave her but there was still something there.

She moved before he could register it. In an instant she had her lips pressed against his. It was a sweet and tender kiss, quite different than the ones he was used to. Slowly she pulled away, her hand still against his face. "I'm not afraid for myself..." The comment was left open but it was clear what she meant. She was afraid something would happen to him. The hand that was resting on the back of her head pulled her back to him once more.

This kiss was deeper and he tried his best to make it reflect his feelings for her. It was the wrong time to bring up something as big as how he truly felt about her. That would be an added weight on her that he didn't want to place on her. So this would have to do for now.

Pulling away once more he let his forehead rest against hers. They sat for a few minutes before her rolled to his side and tucked her into her spot against him. Her body fell right into place as she cuddled up to his form. A small smile spread across her lips as he placed one more kiss on her head.  
"Get some rest, Luna..." Her eyes drifted shut as she moved her head to slightly rub against his. Then she settled with her head under his and her hand clasping his shirt. "Goodnight Garrus..." With that they both fell into the best sleep they had had in a week.


	13. Chapter 13

First order of business is that my wonderful beta, Barbex has started writing herself and has a new story out. So I recommend reading Solid Fluidity. It is a story where Garrus and Shepard meet prior to their first meeting in the game. And lets just say that first meeting is quite steamy. So take a look at that.

Secondly this is the second to last chapter of this installment of this part of the story. One more chapter and we are done. So with that yes this ending is a mild cliffhanger. Also I have been meaning to do this for a while and never got around to it. The title of this story is a lyric from a song played by a local band. Sadly they are no more but the song really kinda was the inspiration to this story. If you wish to hear it you can find it in the iTunes store. You can listen to the sample of the song and still get the idea but I recommend buying it since it is simply wonderful. Simple search for the band Proto, the CD The Alchemist track number 4. Asunder. Just check it out and hear what got this story started. Now onto the fun.

_Disclaimer: Proto and Mass Effect are nowhere near being owned by me._

He could not help but watch as the wind pulled at the loose strand of red that had worked their way free of the knot of hair at the back of her head. It was a pleasant distraction from the task at hand, a distraction that he did not mind. Especially if something went wrong on this mission.

The Cerberus base was located in an abandoned colony that had been one of the first the humans lost during the war. Each time they tried to take it back the turian fleet knocked them down. So with the humans unable to take it back and the turians not wanting a colony at the edge of the border it had been left abandoned until this day, or that's what everyone thought.

They were currently at the top of a building parallel with the Cerberus base. All outward appearance gave the impression that it was still just as empty as the rest of the colony. But Luna had explained that it was all to keep the base hidden. So they waited as the small human began to link into the system defense network from her omni-tool.

As she did Garrus took a moment to really look her over. It was odd to see her out of the ship and in the sun. Her hair gave off a slight glow that made it seem as though she wore some sort of halo. She was dressed in what looked to be an asari commando suit tailored to fit her. Which would make sense, asari gear being far easier for Nihlus to get his hands on than human gear. While she seemed a little out of her element outside the ship Garrus also noticed another slight change. She was focused and seemed a little harder. On the ship it was mostly smiles and jokes paired with good times and support. But out here, in light of the mission, she seemed determined. She looked like a soldier.

But that made sense, she _was_ a soldier. Or at least she had been before Cerberus got ahold of her. He knew with no doubt in his mind she knew how to use the assault rifle on her back as well as the handgun at her side. It was just hard to think that at one time she had been trained to kill his kind. That at one time they very well might have been set against each other on some random mission or battlefield. His thought process halted as Luna put away her omni-tool and turned to them with a small smile.

"I have tripped the alarm at four different areas in the building at different times. They are all away from where we are heading but not so spaced out to look like diversions. By the time we get over to the roof and in the elevator vent they should assume its just a glitch in the system. We shouldn't run into much resistance." Her eyes moved to Nihlus who gave her a grin and reached out to ruffle her hair slightly.

"That's my little shining star." She returned the grin as she followed him to stand at the edge of the roof. Garrus joined them at her side while Seran stood at Nihlus's side. Together they all looked down at the building a few stories below them. With a small nod from Nihlus he was the first to leap from the edge down to the roof below. As he landed he took a few steps before turning to look up at them. Garrus and Saren were the next to jump, mimicking Nihlus as they landed. They all turned to look up towards Luna as she gave a small grunt and jumped the distance. A normal human would most likely sprain something from the fall, but Luna simply landed and rolled. As she rose to her feet she quickly made her way over to the large vent in the floor of the roof. Her omni-tool flashed as she began to click a few keys. After a second the vent popped open with a hiss.

As she began to open the vent she looked over them with a small smile. "This is it. Once we are in we need to get to midway then split up. Garrus and I will work our way back up and you two go down. I've marked on your maps the locations to plant the bombs." She gave a small sigh as she sat on the edge of the large hole in the ground. "Try not to get noticed. We need to get as far as we can without anyone knowing that we are here. We don't want to have the system shut down before we can get all the intel."

Nihlus moved next to her and held out a hand. She took it with a smile as he helped to lift and ease her in the hole. Once she was in the three men moved to follow after her. Beside him Garrus heard Saren grumbling about listening to a human. And how she was most likely leading them into a trap. But Garrus noticed how the turian went quiet as they entered the top of the elevator shaft. Gears and wires were around their heads churning and pulling. Luna moved over a few beams to what seemed to be an unmoving elevator. She gave a small nod to them as she pulled out two clamps.

The three turians followed suit as she clamped hers around one of the wires. "This elevator should be out of order. As long as no one has somehow overrode my virus we should be in the clear." She gave a small smile once more before she looked over to Nihlus. She was about to say something when Seran interrupted her. "With all the glitches and viruses you have pumped into their system won't they just halt the system and be on an all alert? What says they won't fry the system just to be safe?"

Luna smiled as she moved to brace herself once more as she looked to Saren. "I know how they work. I spent most of my military career not only learning turian systems but Cerberus as well. They will not flush the system unless there is no other choice. They cram so much data and information into their harddrives that if they fried it at each sign of a glitch they would have nothing. Besides Cerberus has always been cocky. They most likely believe that no one would ever find their location. And even if they did by some chance, that person would be nowhere near lucky enough to come ready as we are. They think they have a perfect system but with a four man group that knows what they are doing, it is simple childs play."

Saren still seemed unimpressed with what she had to say. Placing a hand on her hip she gave a soft sigh and let her head tilt slightly. "Look, they are cut off from most supplies. Most of the tech here is a few years old. They lost their government funding years ago when they went rogue. It is common for their systems to have glitches every once in awhile. I have done enough that it seems like there is only one real problem, well other than the elevator. But with all the work they are doing to get the system to stop tripping the alarm, the elevator is the least of their worries. Trust me." Saren looked nowhere near ready to trust her. But he did seem to find logic in what she had said. He offered her a nod that she returned.

Looking back to Nihlus she was now able to say what she wanted to. "Once we exit on the floor head straight to the left. You will find a small stairway down. We will head to the right and set the first charge. But from here on out try not to talk unless it is necessary." Nihlus caught her arm before she moved back over the wires. He looked at her for a moment and Garrus began to wonder just what he was trying to say. But she seemed to understand what he was saying. "I'll tell him... Don't worry..."

With that she held tight to the clamps and gave a small jump off the beams they were standing on. Garrus took a mental note to ask her just what she meant, whenever they got a moment. Slowly she began to slide down the wire, the tighter she squeezed the clamps the slower she went. As she descended Garrus attached his clamps and followed suit. As he too began to slide he heard the sounds of Nihlus and then Saren following after them. Nearing the bottom he saw that Luna had already removed her clamps and placed them to the side. A soft thud echoed up the elevator shaft as his feet hit the top of the metal lift.

Luna gave him a warm smile as he began to remove his own clamps. As he stepped away to make room for Nihlus he watched as Luna worked the hatch of the top of the elevator. Once it was cleared away she slid through the opening to land inside with as little sound as possible. There was a few seconds of silence as Saren joined them before they heard the small ding of the elevator doors opening.

Garrus looked down the small hatch to see an empty hallway that Luna was checking with caution. After a few looks of back and forth she waved her hand for them to follow. Garrus was the first to join her on the ground weapon drawn. She held her finger to her lips in what he learned was in a hushing manner before crouching low and moving to the right down the hallway, not even pausing to wait for the other two to get out of the lift. Garrus followed behind her ducking as low as he could around the hallway.

About halfway down the hallway Luna paused under a window and signaled for him to stay down. He did as he was told, watching as she eased up slightly to look into the window above her. She watched for a few seconds before she signaled for him to place a bomb right beside her. He gave a nod as he moved beside her and pulled one of the explosives out of the pack at his side and stuck it to the wall. It only took a few second before it was armed and she was already moving down the hallway.

As Garrus moved behind her his eyes darting towards every corner and hallway that branched off from the one they were in. For the most part they were for all intent alone. He could not see anyone on this floor. But that didn't mean that they weren't there. It was when they neared the stairs that lead up that Luna stopped and held him back in the shadows under the staircase. As she did two guards walked past them and down the hallway to the left. There was no way that they could have seen them but Garrus could hear them as they walked past.

"All these system errors are such a pain. They said to be on alert but really? Who the hell would find us all the way out here?"

"And even if someone did what the hell would they want with some research facility? It's not like we have a lot of intel here..." The guards shared a chuckle as they disappeared down the hall. Garrus looked over to Luna with a quizzical gaze, his subharmonics chiming uncertainty. She offered a small smile as she moved in close to whisper in his ear so they might not be heard.

"Most of the guards here don't really know what goes on inside the labs. Don't worry. The intel here will be important. I promise." As she moved away Garrus fought the urge the pull her back. This mission was a risky one, causing his blood to start to pump. His desire for a battle and the mission was feeding other desires. And with her lips so close to his ear it almost pushed him over the edge. Which in a case like this would be a bad thing. He let her move away and check the stairs before signalling to him.

It wasn't until their third and final floor that they ran into some trouble. As they rose up the stairwell from the floor below Luna halted just short of the rise. At the top stood one guard that was facing away from them. He seemed to be bored and not really aware of his surroundings. Luna motioned for Garrus to wait as she slowly moved up the stairs. She was right at his back when he quickly turned with a small, 'huh?'. Luna's eyes grew wide as her hand shot out straight hitting the human right in the middle of his throat.

As the guard dropped his weapon and went to grab his gasping throat Luna moved in raising her other arm to hit away one of his arms. The first hand was back in a fist punching up catching him in the jaw. The man staggered back a few steps, stunned and unable to breath. Luna took two steps in and moved her arm across her front, moving it forward to wrap around the mans neck. As she pulled her arm down to her side she brought the man down with her so he now stood leaning back almost at a right angle, his body on one side of Luna's arm and his head at her back. With a small twist and downward motion there was a sickening pop and the man went limp.

Garrus was beyond impressed as the small woman began to drag the body back over to the stairs. She gave him a shy smile as she moved past him, leaving the body on the steps where a passer-by would not notice it. He knew that she had some skills but it was amazing to see her in full action. He dared to say it was very close to a turn on. Seeing the great force hidden in such a small package. Pushing such thoughts into the back of his mind he once more followed behind her down the hall.

As predicted there were more guards around the room that they needed to get into. A quiet curse slipped out of Luna's lips as she looked over the small window ledge at the situation. Moving back down and next to him she gave a small sigh. "We need a distraction. If we fight our way to the room they might lock down the system."  
Moving her arm up she brought up her omni-tool. As she worked Garrus took the chance to ease his sight over the edge to look into the room. He could not help the soft growl that left him as took in the sight.

The room was filled with all sorts of species in different stages of dissection. The closest to him was a young asari woman whose head had been sliced open as a scientist poked away at the findings. The entire room was a sickening sight of horror. In the back was a turian who seemed to be alive physically. But a pulse was being sent through his body as other scientist scribbled the results. The eyes of the young man were dull and dead. There was nothing there but a turian shell. An arm brought him back down as Luna shook her head at him. Her other hand rose to cup his mandible. Her lips moved and he could barely hear her whisper. "We are stopping this. It is too late for them but we are going to prevent future victims."

He offered her a small smile as he leaned into her hand. What was going on in the room angered him beyond anything but he knew that she was right. Trying to save any of these victims was a risk to their mission and at this point it seemed to late for all of them. He just hoped that their were no captives in the building that had yet to have any torture inflicted upon them.

Luna gave one last smile before turning back to her omni-tool. There were a few more seconds before she closed it and began to move down the wall once more. Garrus followed behind her unsure of what she had done. It was a clear line to the small room that held the awaiting system. They ducked in and tucked themselves against the wall. As Garrus checked out the door he saw just what Luna had done. At the end of the hall a sealed off room was being pumped full with some sort of smoke or fog. The guards had moved to assist in either shutting down the gas feed or get the doctor inside out.

The door shut quickly as Luna moved over to one of the few terminals in the room. As she stepped up she brought a hand up to her ear, taping on the comm. A small beep was heard through both pieces as they stood and waited. There was a few seconds before the beep was returned. Luna smiled as she moved over to the terminal and began to hack into the system. Her eyes flicked up to Garrus for a second before they returned to the screen.

"I guess it goes without saying, but watch the door. It would be bad if they started to shoot blindly in here." He flashed her a smile as he moved to stand behind a table, the door in a perfect line of his sight.

"Don't worry. I've got your six." His eyes moved over towards her as she worked. Now seemed a good as any time. He gave a small cough as his eyes moved back towards the door. "So what exactly did you mean? Back when you told Nihlus you would 'tell him'?"

Her eyes moved up and took him in for a second before returning to the screen in front of her. She seemed reluctant at first to talk about it. Whatever it was seemed to be a touchy subject. Finally she spoke as her fingers danced along the keys. "In my file, or what Nihlus got of it, there is mention of a control chip. We were never really sure if they put it in or not since the notes seemed unsure of if they should. Nihlus and I agreed that if a situation arises where I was compromised that he would do what needed to be done and neutralize me. I refuse to be used by Cerberus in any situation." Her fingers slowed to a halt for a moment, her eyes moving to him with a hint of sadness in them. "Since Nihlus is not here that task falls to you."

Garrus was in a state of shock. Was she really asking what he thought she was asking? His head shook slightly as he looked away. "Luna - I can't kill you... I'll find a way and get you back. There is no way that I will take you out."

She moved away from the terminal to approach him quickly. Her hands moved to either side of his face, framing him. Her eyes bore into him with so strong of a passion it was almost overwhelming. He couldn't help but swallow at the intensity. "Garrus, please... If something happens and it is either my death or Cerberus taking me or making me their tool, please pull the trigger. I won't live on a table ever again. And I sure as hell won't be their puppet." Her eyes pleaded with him. His hand moved out to cup her face in return. Slowly her hands dropped, one moving to cover his and the other moved to his shoulder.

"I won't let them take you away, ever. I promise I will take care of you..." His subharmonics began to sing a many layered tune. He was afraid of losing her but moved by her affection. His declaration was more so than a promise. In his mind, in his heart he was pledging to always be by her side and keep her from danger that might threaten her down the road. She was his only, he knew it now in light of the possibility of losing her. He was not willing to let her go, now or ever.

Moving forward she stood on her tip-toes, bringing her lips to his lip plates. He felt her warm soft flesh against his somewhat cool plates. It was soft and tender almost chasted. It had him craving more but the fire was slowly dulled as she pulled away and moved back to the terminal. With a somewhat clouded mind Garrus returned to watching the doors.

The next few minutes were silent as she finished her hacking. A loud wailing and flashing lights signaled her completion of the hack. Quickly she began to download all the files to her omni-tool. Her eyes moved up to him with a smile. "Almost done and out." Just as the words left her lips the doors slid open and a team of guards stood ready. Garrus dropped down into his cover and quickly fired off two shoots, dropping two of the guards. As they realised they were under attack the remaining guards ducked behind cover and began to radio for help.

It was after he dropped another two guards that Luna joined him in cover, her weapon drawn. Her hand rose to her ear as she called out. "All done on this end Nihlus. How are you doing down there?"

Garrus listened to the conversation as he rose up to aim the next shot. "Saren finished a few seconds ago. All data has been downloaded. We are fighting our way out now." Garrus felt Luna rise up beside him and aim at the guard tucked behind the door. As his head slid out to aim at them his helmet exploded in a flash of red. Luna ducked back down and raised her hand once more.

"Copy that. Garrus and I will work our way up to the roof. I'll signal when we are clear." She rose up once more to her feet and took out the guard that stood towards the back of the room behind a crate. Garrus dropped three more to clear the room. He gave her a nod that she returned before turning and running towards the stairs leading up.

They had two floors to go thru before they could reach the roof. Each one had guards but that didn't seem to slow them down. Only once did they get pinned down on their way up. It really must have helped that there was another team down below as well and the guards were all spread out due to all the glitches. The rest of the time they simply ran, taking out whoever was in their way.

It was as they were running up the stairs to the roof that Nihlus radioed them they were clear of the building. With little effort Luna had the door open and was running out to the middle of the roof. She paused as she looked around to check for any hidden guards. Finding it clear she sighed and looked towards the buildings around. The one they had jumped down from was far too high to climb back up. There were two, one on the left and one behind that were far too low to jump. But the roof of the building just ahead seemed to be a manageable height.

She was looking down at it as Garrus too a few steps towards her. "Didn't really think of a full exit plan, did you?" She laughed and shook her head slightly as she turned. "To tell you the truth I figured-" She stopped mid sentence as her eyes grew wide and her gun went up. For a split second Garrus thought she was aiming at him. But her shout told her otherwise.

"Garrus! Behind you!" He turned just in time to bring his rifle up to block the metal coming down at him. He jumped back letting the now two pieces of his rifle clatter to the ground, cut right in half. Pulling out his assault rifle he joined Luna as she aimed at the man that had attacked them. Standing before them was a man that was crouched somewhat with a large blade in his hand. His eyes were covered in a what looked like metal and black shades bolted to his face. They were new, evident by the redness and swelling around the bolts. He was dressed in a Cerberus colored bodysuit. Black hair hung around his face framing the cocky grin that it held.

Luna gave a small scuff as she took as step closer to Garrus. "Kai Leng... Looks like you have had a few new upgrades." The man smiled as he took a step to the side still crouched and holding his blade to the side. When he spoke it was with a raspy voice that just pulled Garrus's plates the wrong way. "All the better to see you with my dear."

Luna gave a small puff from her nose as he tilted her head to Garrus but never let her eyes leave the man. "Kai Leng is one of Cerberus's best and brightest. Being one of their top assassins and most trusted agent. If I had known he was here I would have blasted the site from space. Make sure that he was taken out."

The man chuckled slightly as he looked Luna over. Even without being able to see his eyes Garrus couldn't help but grow irritated. Maybe it was the cocky grin or the way his head tilted. It was clear he was really looking her over. "My my Luna. Is that any way to greet an old friend? I'm hurt."

Garrus gave a small chuckle as he took as step back towards the edge of the roof. Luna's eyes moved to him for a second before she let them move back to the assassin, taking a step back herself. The man saw what they were doing and began to move towards them.

"Now you know, Lu. I can't let you leave with that data. I need the one you have as well as the one your little pets have." He moved forward as they took another step back. "And of course I need you to come back with me. The Illusive Man misses you quite a bit as you can expect. So be a good girl and come along."

Luna gave a small growl as she raised her rifle. "Don't call me that you son of a bitch." With that she pulled the trigger. Raising his blade the man began to block and dodge the bullets but it seemed to do the trick as Luna turned and grabbed Garrus's arm. With a few steps they were leaping off the building and to the roof below. As they landed Luna staggered for a moment but Garrus took hold of her arm to steady her. They only wasted a moment before they were running to the edge of the roof. As they did Luna raised a hand to her ear to radio Nihlus.

"Nihlus we are clear. Blow the fuck out of that damn building!" Garrus couldn't help but give a small smile as he heard Nihlus reply. "Fuck is about to be blown!"

They continued to run down the long roof as the tell tale signs of an explosion could be heard behind them. First it was a small creaking sound then one after another loud booms echoed over the empty city. As they moved Garrus could feel the heat on his back before the force from the blast hit them hard.

It took a few second for the ringing in his ears to stop but as it did it was replaced by a frantic yelling. Rising to his feet quickly he turned to see Luna struggling in the arms of Kai Leng. The human was smiling as he tried to sooth her. "Now now Luna. You knew that this was coming. You didn't possibly think you could run from us forever.

Garrus brought up his assault rifle just as the man brought out a hypo gun and pulled Luna's back to his front. He held it up to her neck and quickly pulled the trigger. In an instant Luna went limp, her eyes wide and staring at Garrus but the rest of her completely immobile. Kai Leng gave a chuckle as the gun clattered to the ground. "That's a good girl. Now let's get you back home. Cerberus is ready to take back what is theirs." His free hand rose to caress her cheek. "Even if it means turning you into a shell. Don't worry. I'll make sure to find some use for your body."

Another smile rose to his lips as Garrus took aim at the human pair. "Don't you dare to take another step."

Kai Leng looked at Garrus with one eye shade, the rest of his face and body hiding behind Luna's limp form. "Or what, lizard? You'll shot me?" He gave off a short laugh. "To do that you'll have to go thru our little Luna Jane. And we wouldn't want that."

Garrus gave a small growl as he tried to aim at the small uncovered part of the mans face. He was really wishing he had his sniper rifle right about now. "She'll live. Bonus to all that skin weave and enhancements you pumped into her."

Garrus thought he had him there but the mans chuckle proved him wrong. Instead he began to slowly walk backwards, Luna still pulled tight to him. "See that's where you are wrong you reptilian fuck. I activated her kill switch. All of her wonderful little upgrades are now offline. As well as all her motor functions. She is a simple, useless doll now."

Garrus bit back his growl as he looked over the situation. He could not shoot and let him go with half the data and Luna and hope to track them all down again later. Or he could shoot. Running a high chance of losing Luna forever.

His eyes moved over the man as his scanner worked in overdrive to find a weak point. He was about to give up hope and simply take them both out when his scanner picked up a small variance. When he took a step back with his outside foot he leaned a slight degree to the side. It caused Leng's heart to be slightly out of line with Luna's. It was a small chance but it was one that he had to take.

As he raised his rifle and waited for the perfect moment he looked to Luna's eyes. He didn't know what he expected but the soft warmth in her eyes was not it. In the light from the burning building he saw a shimmer of unshed tears as her silver orbs beamed at him. She knew he was doing what he had to do. He had promised after all.

So with a small amount of trepidation Garrus set his sight and waited. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Shoot.


	14. Chapter 14

I'm just going to let you get right into it today.

_Disclaimer: Nothing is mine... Sadly... Maybe Luna.. But on a very small scale_

Time was warped. He was sure of it. Everything had to be going by so fast yet at the same time so slow. He watched the bullet leave his gun and head right to its mark. Silver eyes drifted shut as the metal tore through her chest and right into the man behind her. Garrus could feel himself move quickly, running towards her form as she began to fall slowly towards the ground. His true mark fell behind her in a heap, forgotten by the distressed turian.

He barely caught her before she hit the ground. Gathering her up in his arms he pulled her face towards him, pushing bright strands away as he tried to check her vitals. Small breaths. That was good. She was still alive. Shifting her weight he pulled his arm up to open his omni-tool. Patching through to Nihlus he spoke quickly.  
"Nihlus! I need an emergency pick up..." His eyes moved down to the motionless form in his arms. Taking a deep breath he forced the words out. "Luna is down.."

Nihlus' voice was hesitant on the other end. "Understood. We are on our way." Before the mike cut Garrus could hear Saren mumbling something about worthless. But at the moment he didn't care. The older spectre was wrong.

A warm liquid began to coat his fingers through his gloves. Raising the hand that braced Luna he couldn't help but stare at the deep red that coated his hand. Looking down he could see a stain of darkness spread from the small hole in her chest. It was so bizarre seeing such red liquid pool out of her. It was not the normal blue of a turian or the odd green of a salarian or even the subtle purplish blue of an asari. No, it was a red that looked like it belonged on a flower, not a fatal wound.

It felt like hours before the ship arrived to pick them up, even if it was just under fifteen minutes. Nihlus came out of the ship to help them onboard. Garrus was sure Nihlus had come to help carry her, but he couldn't let her go at the moment. He felt if he did he may lose her. Lifting her with one arm bracing her back and the other under her knees, he carried her onto the ship and down the hall without a glance at Saren who sat at the controls.

For a moment he wasn't sure where to take her, since they didn't really have a med bay. After a second of debating he moved towards his room. Once inside he placed her on his bed, slightly in wonder at the way the red began to eat away at the white sheets under her. Realizing quickly that that might not be a good thing he went about removing the top layer of her suit. Once she was bare at the top except for her 'bra' he pulled out one of the medi-gel packs he kept on his suit. Applying it he waited for a moment, watching as the blood flow seemed to slow, but not stop.

The door behind him opened but he didn't bother to turn. He knew it was Nihlus, who else would it be? He sat on the ground beside his bed waiting for his mentor to speak. After a moment the dark turian sighed and moved to sit at the foot of the bed, watching Luna.

"We are enroute to the Citadel as we speak. They have a medical team on standby for when we get there in hopefully less than an hour." Garrus could feel Nihlus' eyes on him. What was the spectre afraid to say? Breaking his gaze away from Luna's face he looked up to his mentor. Nihlus took another breath as he broke the stare and looked to Luna. "I contacted John. He plans to meet us there. And to say the least he wants a word with you."

The older turian shook his head as he looked to his student. "What happened Garrus? The last we heard you were clear and free ready for the blast. How did Luna get shot?"

Garrus raised a hand to run along his mandible in thought before he looked to Nihlus. "I shot her. Nihlus, I shot her. This Cerberus operative had her. The only way to get him was to shot threw her." He sighed as he looked up to him. For the first time in a long time Garrus felt at a loss. A small coo of his subharmonics sounded in grief for someone dear, someone loved. Shaking his head he looked back to the motionless form.

Nihlus moved over and placed a hand on Garrus's shoulder. "It will be ok. Her upgrades should keep her stable until we reach the Citadel." Garrus shook his head once more as he reached out and took the soft, frail human hand into his. "He did something to her. A kill switch. Said it would keep her from healing." He reached a hand out to trace his finger along the side of her face. "The only thing I can think of doing is continue to put medi-gel on the wound."

Garrus sat down with his eyes trained on Luna's face. She looked like she was sleeping, a dreamless sleep, so peaceful. As he studied her his subharmonics continued to cry out in fear of loss. He really couldn't help it. She had become the single most important person to him. And now he watched helplessly as she slowly bled out on his bed. They had nothing on board to fix her wound, even if any of them knew human anatomy. He only hoped with the new popularity of humans now on the Citadel there would be help there.

As he looked her over he could feel Nihlus studying him. The bright green eyes bore into him from behind. Nihlus was aware of the relationship between the two of them. How many times had they both smelt of each other? Finally he wasn't able to take much more of it. Turning he narrowed his eyes at his mentor and seemed to dare him to say something.

And it was just like Nihlus not to back down from a dare. "Just what do you think you are doing Garrus?" They younger turian looked up to his mentors with a defiant gaze. When he didn't say anything Nihlus continued. "It was clear that there was something going on between you two. I remember even encouraging it. But I didn't know that it reached this level. If I did, I would have stopped it a long time ago."

Garrus gave a small growl as he looked away from Nihlus. He thought his mentor would be on his side. Cheering them both on. Eager to so their relationship bloom. What's better than your two best friends falling in love? Unless Nihlus felt for her in the same manner? No, he had made it clear a long time ago that their bond was nothing more than deep friendship. Icy blue eyes narrowed as they locked with emerald.

"What is so wrong about it? Where you not the one preaching about embracing the humans? Wouldn't a turian-human pair be a step in the right direction?" He involuntarily gripped Luna's hand tighter. He had promised himself he would tell her how he really felt for her. And if - no when she woke he planned his feelings for her to be the first thing out of his mouth.

Nihlus scuffed slightly as he shook his head. "You are still so young and narrow minded. Yes the races all need to work together. But a step like this is far too quick. It's far too big." He sighed before turning to look at his student. "Think for a minute. What will people say? It will be way too clear that you two knew each other before the war ended. You two may be targeted by hate groups. People will think that you gave up information to the other side to help end the war. Or they could even think that about Luna."

It was Garrus's turn to scuff as he watched the slow rise and fall of Luna's chest. "I don't care what people say about me. You should know words are just words. I can protect her from anything that may come at her."

Garrus' head jerked forward slightly from Nihlus popping him in the back of the head with a hand. "Use your brain for a moment. Do you really think Luna wants to be locked in a ship for the rest of her life?" Garrus' eyes, which had turned to Nihlus in accusation after being hit, now turned back to the peaceful face sleeping beside him. "The few years that she has been with me have made her so withdrawn already. You saw how excited she was to get off and see her brother. And even then she was hit with cruel words from someone who used to be close. Imagine that coming from all directions no matter where she goes."

He sighed as he moved over to sit beside her once more. A hand rose to rest on her leg. "Even if she acts strong, a person can only take so much. If she feels the same way about you she would most likely put up with it. But I promise that it would slowly wear down on her. Even the hardest rock is worn down by rushing water."

Garrus looked at his mentor for a moment before looking down to his hands. He was right. Was he really that selfish? As long as he had her he thought nothing else would matter. But would it be worth having her if he lost her in the end? If not physically then mentally. His mind went back to the movie they had first watched together. The red haired woman chose the man she loved over the rich man. And they were both so happy. Then she died, leaving the man all on his own. What had Luna said? Was it better to love and lose than to never love at all?

He mentally moaned as he looked back towards her face. He was already in love. So no matter what, he was going to lose her. He was just going to have to pick how he was going to lose her.

Just then her face gave a small twitch, proof that she was somewhat waking. A hand on his shoulder told him that Nihlus was leaving. Pausing at the door the older turian looked back to the pair. He looked like he was about to say something but then changed his mind. "Don't forget the medi-gel..."

Garrus nodded as he reached into his pockets for another pack. As he spread it over the wound, silver eyes fluttered open, peering up at him. He gave a small smile as he looked down to her. "Gave me a scare there. I thought we might have lost you..."

Her eyes looked him over for a minute before looking to her surroundings. Giving a sigh of what seemed to be relief she let her eyes land back on him. "Kai Leng?" He shook his head as he put a finger on her chest, a few inches from her own wound, right on her heart.

"I got him right here with that shoot. He dropped like a brick. But then you kind of did too..." Her eyes moved to look down at her wound. She seemed to struggle slightly before looking to him once more. "Kill switch?" He shook his head at her. Why was she speaking in such short sentences? Was it the kill switch? Or was there something more?

"It's still there. We are on the way to the Citadel. Hopefully they will be able to help you." There was a small pull feeling that came with a relay jump. It was so familiar now he hardly even noticed it anymore. Good. They were only a few more minutes from the Citadel now.

He sighed as he raised a hand to brush a stand of red from her face. Maybe now was a good time. With everything that would be happening soon, with the doctors and explaining exactly what happened and why she was with three turians, two of which being Spectres, he might not get the time again. Swallowing his nervousness he looked into those silver orbs as Saren announced their approach to the dock.

"You know, Luna. It may be a good idea to take a break from our relationship. With everything coming up that we are about to face it may be a little hard to be together. I'm sure hanging out will be fine on occasions. But I think anything beyond that would be a bad idea." Everything inside of him felt like screaming his love for her. But Nihlus was right. He couldn't put a target on her. She would already have one, simply for being on a Spectre's ship.

Her eyes grew wide for a moment before they seemed to understand. With the light in the room he noticed the glint in the corners. Tears. Was she about to cry? That was the last thing he wanted. He was about to say something, anything, when her horse voice cut him off.

"For the better... Forgot to mention... Someone always falls in love.. And gets hurt..." Did she know? Had she seen right through him? Did she know how he really felt about her? His eyes moved away, slightly ashamed. A hand clasping his caused him to look back to her. Glistening trails down her cheeks reflected the light. A small smile pulled on her lips.

"Too late.. For me.. I guess.." His eyes grew wide. Did she just confess to him? His heart swelled slightly as he looked to her. To hell with it. They could tone down a relationship. It didn't have to be public. Just as long as he had her, right? His mandibles grew wide in a grin as he moved to take hold of her hand.

He froze as her hand slipped away from his to fall limp on the bed. Quickly his eyes darted to her chest. It stayed motionless. Moving up he placed his fingers on her neck to check her vitals as he called out to her. "Luna.. Luna!... LUNA!"

Nothing was there. As he turned to get help the door to his room opened to welcome in a salarian, an asari and a human, along with gurney. Nihlus stood behind them trying to peer into the room. Garrus stood for a second unable to get the words out. If he said them out loud they would be all too real. Finally, as they began to move in he stepped back.

"She stopped breathing..." The doctors moved quickly to lift her up to the gurney. As they pushed past him the asari placed a small mask over her face and began to pump oxygen into her. The human began to check the wound as they exited the ship, Garrus and Nihlus hot on their trail.

The next few minutes were a blur. Garrus remembered an elevator ride. And the doctors shouting back and forth. It wasn't until he was standing in front of a glass window and a hard pressure hit the side of his face that he came back to his full awareness. He raised his hand to his face as he turned to see a very pissed off John standing beside him. His fist was clenched and already starting to turn red from hitting his plates so hard.

"You fucking bastard. I left her in your care. You were supposed to look after her. How could you let this happen?" Garrus had nothing to say. He was right. John wasn't saying anything Garrus hadn't already kicked himself about. Nihlus stepped in in an attempt to bring some peace.

"What happened was no ones fault. Garrus had no way of stopping it. It took a call and he picked the best on -" His sentence was cut short by a small buzz. All three turned to watch as the human doctor raised the metal paddles once more, called 'Clear' and placed them on Luna. Her body jerked but the little monitor she was hooked up to remained the same, a flat red line and a single tone.

With each shock Garrus's heart fell a little more and more. Bedside him Nihlus clutched a fist to his mouth while John seemed to want to bang on the glass as he mumbled small encouragements. It wasn't until the doctor shook her head and put away the paddles that Garrus felt completely shattered.

He lost her. She was gone. And by his own doing. A hand on his shoulder that could only belong to Nihlus was not a comfort. Shrugging it off he turned and began to march back towards the elevator. He could hear Nihlus speaking to John but it was all nonsense to him as he desperately fought the urge to let his subharmonics cry out in pain.

Once inside the elevator he clenched his fist before slamming it into the wall. He'd couldn't do it anymore. There was no way he could get back on that ship without her. No way he could lay on the bed she slowly bled out on. The same one she would nestle so close to him on. The galaxy was much dimmer now. To him it felt like it didn't deserve saving. Not from him at least.

Once more his fist slammed into the wall before he cried out, alone in the elevator. He would leave now. Take a transport to Spirits know where. Just so long as it didn't remind him of her. He would send out letters. Farewells or some sort. Someday. But not today. Today he was going to mourn the loss of the woman he loved.

Back in the hospital Nihlus tried to console John as the human leaned against the glass, crying. They both stood, unable to do anything as the doctors wrote down the information needed on the form. It was as the human doctor moved to turn off the monitor that the small red line jumped once with a beep.

There you have it my darlings. That is the end of this act or volume. I will be continuing the next part after a small break. This is not the end, I promise you.

Thank you all so much for coming this far with me. I would not have continued to write if you all had not been there to read. I forgot to mention, we reached OVER 9000 views! You all are so amazing.

Once I start on the next half I will post a sneak peek as well as the link/title to the next half. So keep an eye out my darlings. Hopefully I will see you all there. ^.^


	15. Teaser

_This is a teaser for the next installment of this story. You can find the next part on my profile._

You know those places that just always rub you the wrong way? The ones that you dread going to no matter what, because something terrible always seems to happen? For Garrus that was the Citadel. For the rest of the galaxy it was a wonderful place where all races could live in harmony. Where their needs were met and you could find shelter from whatever you were running from. For Garrus the whole structure was just a reminder of terrible things that had happened in his life.

This was where he had slaved away as a C-Sec officer. Seeing first hand the dark and twisted secrets the galaxy hid in its beloved haven. Where slavers smuggled living beings in crates and drugs a plenty where hidden in every little corner. And the worst of it was, the little power he had to do anything about it.

This is also where he had lost _her_. The first woman he had ever truly been in love with. The woman that caused him to really open his eyes to the galaxy around him and see life anew. The one woman that caused him to doubt everything he had been. And Spirits be damned if she wasn't a human.

His musings were halted, as the small shuttle he was on halted at the platform. The ride had been long and uncomfortable but what could he expect traveling all the way across the galaxy from some backwash end planet that he didn't think even had a name, to the glorious Citadel. And once again this gleaming city only brought him more reminders of pain.

Stepping out onto the platform, Garrus's icy blue orbs landed on a news screen to his right. Like most of the news lately, it was playing the same story over and over. The reason he was back at this place. He tried to not listen, tried to not be reminded but at the same time the investigator inside of him wanted to know if there were anymore leads. So with great reluctance he turned his attention to the voice of the woman, as images moved across the screen.

_"-nly a week has passed since the galaxy lost its brave hero. Spectre Nihlus Kryik was found dead on a planet that is being developed to become a human colony. It appears that the Spectre had been shot dead from a great distance. It is still unsure, whether or not the murder was human related, with Kryik being one of the leading supporters of human relations with other species. The-"_

Garrus had to fight back a half hearted chuckle as he heard that last bit. If only the news reporter and even the whole galaxy knew why Nihlus was all about humans. It might have had something to do with Luna. That thought brought a small clinch to his heart. It had been six years since he had walked off the citadel and disappeared after her death but he could still see it so clearly. Hear her last words to him like she whispered them in his ear. The sad words that caused him to be truly happy for a fleeting moment. She had whispered of her love for him. And she had died thinking he didn't feel the same way. And now there was no way he could go back and tell her now.

And now his mind was on her once more. The human alliance tech officer turned Cerberus experiment, that had escaped with Nihlus and became his traveling companion. When Garrus became Nihlus's student, he had had no idea about the human. He had thought her to be an AI. And after he had discovered what she truly was, they had begun a relationship that had been the oddest yet happiest one he had ever been in to date. But that was over now. She was gone and now Nihlus was a well.


End file.
